Knitted tribute to Ukraine taken from famous Loughborough statue

On Saturday the bronze statue was dressed in a sock and hat.

Loughborough's iconic 'Sockman' sculpture has had its kitted garments taken.

He was dressed in a yellow and blue sock to show the communities support to Ukraine along with a red and white hat in the colours of the Polish flag.

Loughborough's Polish community gathered with other members of the Charnwood community at the statue on Saturday to show their solidarity for the people of Ukraine.

Gosia Khrais, the president of Polish Community Centre in Loughborough, said: "It was quite disappointing. The whole installation was to symbolise the unity of the three nations (Ukrainians, Polish, British). We hope it was a prank and those responsible will be willing to return the sock, the hat and the sign back to us."

They have been collecting items to help Ukrainian refugees over the past couple of weeks and have been overwhelmed by the support.

A Charnwood Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are disappointed the sock has been removed but we are proud the community came together on Saturday to show their support.

“The Council would like to pay tribute to the Polish community for organising their appeal to help Ukrainian refugees and to everyone who has supported it. We were also proud to fly the Polish flag alongside the Ukrainian flag at Loughborough Town Hall on Saturday. It is important that we stand together as a community at times like these.”

The statue is a symbol of Loughborough's hosiery industry.