A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes is being restored after being smashed into two pieces in a vandal act at Independence Garden in Sliema earlier this week.

The statue was donated by a parishioner three and a half years ago, said Fr Joseph Farrugia, former parish priest of St Gregory the Great church.

Parish priest Victor Scicluna said the damage was discovered on Wednesday morning and the perpetrator is unknown.

The top part of the statue was lopped off and it was now being restored by a man who takes care of the area, he said.

Condemning the incident, Sliema mayor Anthony Chircop said the case was particularly serious because the statue was religious, although he added that all vandalism must be condemned.

The matter has been reported to the police.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.