Brazen thieves drive down street to steal statue in broad daylight

A man told of his "shock" after his one-of-a-kind statue was stolen from outside his home. At around 3.15pm, on Tuesday, October 1, Tom Murphy, 75, returned to his home in Woolton to discover the statue he has had on his doorstep for "years" was gone.

The statue, which was secured to the wall by a metal rod and cemented to the step, was taken in broad daylight - some time between 1.15pm and 3.15pm - when neither Tom nor his wife were home. Neighbours reported seeing a van 'lingering' outside the house.

Tom is a celebrated artist, with more than 40 sculptures on public display throughout Liverpool and the rest of the UK. His notable works include the Ken Dodd and Bessie Braddock statues inside Lime Street Station, the Bill Shankly and Dixie Dean memorials outside Anfield and Goodison Park, the John Lennon sculpture at John Lennon Airport, and the Hillsborough memorial in the city centre.

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The stolen statue was one of the first sculptures created by Tom almost 40 years ago. He told the ECHO: "I'm very sad. I miss the little statue and so do all the neighbours. They were all disappointed and shocked. Woolton is a very friendly area and people look out for each other. One neighbour said she used to touch the statue everyday for luck when out walking her dog.

"We've had it outside on the step for years. I made it out of stone in the 80s. It was one of the first sculptures I ever made, carved with a hammer and screwdriver."

Tom said the 3ft sculpture, which depicts a baby holding another baby, was inspired by embryos. He said: "In your life sometimes you just get one or two great ideas. I had this idea of a baby holding a tiny baby.

"The whole sculpture is sort of unfinished. It's a bit crude, in its execution, but it's meant to be like that. Strangely enough, that statue is the embryo of my career. It wasn't meant to be at the time, but looking back, it's definitely symbolic."

He added: "The statue is not political. It represents no matter how big or small or unfinished we may think we are, we are all important. The thing is, it's so unique, there's nothing even similar to it. Whoever tries to sell it, everyone would know about it. There's no point in keeping it. I'm flattered that they like my work but I want it back!"

Tom's wife Catherine, spoke of the "calculated aspect" of the robbery. She told the ECHO: "I'd gone out at quarter past one for lunch with a friend. Tom came in at quarter past 3, so it's happened between then. We live on a tiny dead-end street so we don't get many people going up or down. It's been planned by somebody."

It's not the first time one of Tom's sculptures has been stolen. The small version of the Bill Shankly statue, created to show Liverpool FC what the final product would look like, was stolen from his studio at Aigburth Road in 1997. It was eventually found by a man with a dog. Tom joked: "It's always a man with a dog who finds these things isn't it!"

A statement from Merseyside Police said: "We can confirm we received a report that a sculpture was stolen from a house in Woolton yesterday, Tuesday October 1. We received a report that between 1.15pm and 3.15pm a stone sculpture which was secured to a wall was stolen from a doorstep."

Anyone with information or has captured the theft on CCTV and doorbell footage is asked to contact @MerPolCC on X or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook with reference 24000840355. You can also pass information via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.