WEST Kilbride residents have been left heartbroken after thieving vandals decimated their beloved scarecrows, which were on display ahead of this year’s festival.

Members of the community awoke on Monday morning to find that a teacher and a penguin effigy had been stolen, while other scarecrows had been decapitated, torn to pieces, and robbed of their carrot noses. Tragically, among the figures destroyed was the event’s mascot – the original scarecrow used in the village’s very first festival more than a decade ago. Now the Scarecrow Gala Committee have to fork out for materials to repair and replace the ruined effigies.

Jacqueline Wilson, of West Kilbride Scarecrow Gala Committee, described the incident as “a night of destruction”. She told the Herald: “The original scarecrow who is on the Glen has had his nose, his tassels and his hands pulled off. His hands were on the ground all destroyed. It’s very sad and it annoyed me because he was the original scarecrow at the very first festival. He’s about 13-years-old. It’s just badness.

“Everyone in West Kilbride is saying that this is disgusting. The messages of support we’ve had on Facebook have been great. We hope whoever has done this is caught and named and shamed. It’s a total disrespect for all the hard work that goes into making the scarecrows. We’re going to have to go out and buy glue guns and stuff now to repair them all.”

Jacqueline described the rest of the carnage that awaited villagers on Monday morning. She said: “Shrek’s mask has been stolen – they’ve destroyed Shrek and he was just made last week. Luckily though we’ve got two extra heads for him that we can use. The schoolboy scarecrow was also cut down and turned round so we had to repair him.

“Popeye’s arm had been pulled off and thrown aside and Shrek’s gloves put on the arm. His pipe’s been pulled out and flung halfway down the road and Olive Oyl’s nose has been pulled off.

“A teacher was taken from the school and a penguin from Seamill. That penguin was outside the Waterside Hotel on the main road so whoever took it was driving past. They must have had scissors or a knife because the scarecrows are tied up with tie-wrap and you can’t break that with your hands. Whoever is doing this is deliberately out to get them.”

Jacqueline fears that pranksters are stealing the scarecrows for a joke after thieves were spotted on social media posing with their trophies.

She said: “This has happened before. There was a picture of some boys in a field on Twitter recently and they were boasting about taking a scarecrow, which is really stupid. But we know it wasn’t from this year though because we recognised the scarecrow as one which was stolen last year.

“Scott who works in the garage had his hat stolen last year and it was quite expensive and he had to go out and buy another one. He was also out on a stag night and someone said ‘oh you’re from West Kilbride? You’ll know this fellow then’ and they showed him a picture on their phone of one of our scarecrows in someone’s room.

"It seems there are people out there stealing scarecrows and putting them in their houses and taking pictures to show off. It’s very strange.”