A stolen statue of the Virgin Mary would have needed two people to force it from its plinth, according to the church-goer who donated it.

The ten-stone marble statue was taken from the street by Marias Gardens in Palmerston Road on Friday night (August 7).

Cards, flowers, and donations of around £10 a week were regularly left at the feet of the figure which was then donated to St Patrick’s Parish in Blackhorse Road.

The 5-foot-tall statue imported from Italy in January marked the site of a former church herb garden and gave an opportunity for passers-by to pray.

Christopher Theile, who lives next to Marias Gardens, installed the £750 statue as a gift to the church.

“It is a disgusting theft and is being treated by police as a hate crime.

“I put it there as an act of faith, nothing else. People stopped to pray by her even in the middle of the night.

“It was so big it must have required two thieves and an enormous force to rip her off the fittings in the wall.”

The 38-year-old said the statue had become an important symbol to the community especially to Romanian Catholics in the area.

He said: “Today I saw an old woman who regularly prayed by the Virgin Mary looking for the statue.

“Her English was not very good so I had to repeat to her that it was stolen three times before she understood and she burst into tears.

“I can only hope the statue was sold to a person of real faith but if it has been destroyed then I am just speechless.

“If some poor soul steals a Rolex from someone in a café, it is still theft and illegal but if they need the money I can understand it.

“But to steal an iconic statue that is so important to the community that I can never understand.

“I cleaned her often when the dust gathered from the street, I changed the flowers when they became dry and made sure any donations made it to the church.”

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The statue was taken from a plinth in Palmerston Road, Walthamstow.

The parishioner said the theft came as part of rise in “anti-Christian” activity in the area, which has seen vandalism and even cases of human defecation left outside a near-by church.

“I have seen a child who must have been about 12, spit at the statue. I don’t take offence from that as he was so young but this theft has gone too far”, he said.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the theft was being investigated but they have yet to make an arrest.

Anyone who has information concerning the theft is asked to contact Waltham Forest Police by dialling 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.