'Pink Panther-esque' theft of town sign... again

A town sign has been stolen in what has been described by a local councillor as a "Pink Panther-esque" theft.

Mildenhall Town councillor Ian Shipp said the sign, which welcomes people to the Suffolk town, was taken over the summer, but no-one is sure when the incident took place.

He said it was the second time one of the town's signs had been stolen, with another taken "a few years ago".

Suffolk Police said it was appealing for witnesses after the sign at the junction of Worlington Road and Station Road was "stolen some time over the summer".

"It is thought that the suspects used tools to dismantle it," a spokesperson said.

Shipp said that he believed the sign had either been stolen for its scrap value, as it is made of cast metal, or "as a memento of the town to be hung up somewhere".

He added that it would be a difficult item to hide.

"It's about three-foot square the sign itself. It's black paint with gold lettering on it.

"So yeah, you wouldn't put it in your back pocket and run off and hang it on your wall without some heavy duty fixings."

He said the council was in the process of filing an insurance claim and, similar to the other stolen sign, it would likely be replaced by a plastic sign to reduce the risk of it being taken again.

"It's just a shame that someone has seen fit to take this away and also rather brazen," Shipp said.

"It's on the corner of a busy road, so I'm presuming it was done in the middle of the night, Pink Panther-esque."

He said if anyone wanted to return it confidentially, they could contact the town council.

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