Scarecrows that were made by pupils at a primary school have been burnt after being stolen from a yard in Chipping Sodbury.

Hatherell’s Yard just off Sodbury High Street is home to around 10 independent businesses and has proved popular since it opened in 2014.

Since March this year though, it has been targeted three times by thieves and vandals.

On the night of the Mop Fair in March earlier this year, two concrete floor lights were ripped from the ground and a number of overhead hanging lights were smashed.

Earlier this month a large planter shrub, placed there by volunteer group Sodbury in Bloom and costing about £90, was taken from the yard and hurled in to the nearby river. Now two scarecrows that were part of a trail organised by Raysfield Primary School and Sodbury in Bloom have been stolen.

The scarecrows had been in the yard less than 24 hours before they were taken.

It happened overnight on Friday, May 24, and the a post on the yard’s Facebook page called for any information.

Remains of the scarecrows were later found in the nearby Ridge Woods by a resident, after they had been set on fire.

“It is really horrible, a lot of young children worked really hard and they are really upset,” a representative from Sodbury in Bloom said.

“We worked with students and staff at Raysfield School to create the scarecrows and we don’t understand why someone would do this.

“Lianne from Koala Kreations in the yard has been really good but it is a shame that someone would do this when a lot of people put in a lot of work.

“The public response was really good because we had a lot of people go out and look for the scarecrows, so we really want to thank people for that but it is a shame.”

Lianne Abbott, the owner of Koala Kreations is the manager of the yard and has previously stated that CCTV could be introduced, however there is no progress with that as yet.

Sodbury in Bloom has said that it would support the application for surveillance in the yard, in the belief it would be a good deterrent.