Locals hunt for seven-foot goblin stolen from community lantern trail in 'drunken prank'

The hunt is on for pranksters who stole three huge figures - including a seven-foot goblin - from a community snow trail.

The figures, which also include a boy and a girl, were part of a lantern trail based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale 'The Snow Queen' in the St Paul's area of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

It is believed they may have been taken as a drunken prank after a car was spotted with what looked like the goblin on its roof in the early hours of Friday morning (31 December).

St Paul's Road Area Residents' Association is now appealing for information about the theft.

A spokesperson said: "We had a tip off via social media that the goblin was spotted at 3AM on Friday on the top of a car which was being stopped by police on Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham.

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"This was before we had realised they were missing.

"We are assuming this was a drunken prank - someone’s misguided idea of a joke."

The green hobgoblin was stolen from the roof of a local pub whilst the children, named Kai and Gerda, were taken from two separate front gardens on St Paul's Road in Cheltenham.

The spokesperson said the goblin was originally made by sculptor Matthew West for a display in Gloucester city centre in 2018 and had been restored along with other lanterns, while some had also been made bespoke for the trail which runs through the streets of St Paul’s.

"They won’t have any resale value," the spokesperson added, "especially as they are likely to have been damaged in the removal - we know that the wires to the battery packs have been cut, leaving the battery packs behind - so they won’t even light up without new lights."

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