Vandalised mermaid statue will return to riverside after repairs

A MERMAID statue which was thrown into the River Thames in Henley is set to be returned to its former location.

The 6ft 6in bronze sculpture, which stood on a plinth on Red Lion Lawn, has been in storage since it was vandalised in November 2017.

Now the “ama” is set to be returned after a fund-raising campaign made more than £1,200 to pay for the work.

Michaela Clarke, of Elizabeth Road, Henley, who led the appeal, has now presented the money to the town council.

At a meeting of the council’s town and community committee, members thanked Mrs Clarke but rejected her suggestion that the mermaid should be erected at nearby Singers Park, which she said would be better for tourists to see and post pictures on social media.

Councillor Kellie Hinton said: “There was a lot of abuse online about the mermaid, it’s not as popular as I thought it was. I think it’s better where it was.”

Councillor Glen Lambert said: “I didn’t think it was for vandals to decide that we shouldn’t have the mermaid on Red Lion Lawn and I voted to have it back on the lawn.”

Councillor Sarah Miller said: “I think she should go where she was. Well done to Michaela — she did a great job and we’ve got to give her credit.”

The 370lb statue, which was designed by French artist Amaryllis Bataille, was loaned to the council in 2013 by a German company called Koh i Noor.

It was supposed to be sold for at least 15,000 euros (£12,800) after five years, with a share of the proceeds going to charity, and replaced with another piece. After it was vandalised, the owners said they wanted the council to buy the artwork.

At first, they wanted £8,800 minus the salvage costs, then reduced the demand to 5,000 euros, about £4,455, which the council agreed to try to crowdfund.

Then earlier this year the owners decided to gift the piece to the town instead.

The statue was retrieved from the water by experts from Cook Piling, of Hurley. An anonymous resident paid £780 to hire a flatbed crane and a diver to retrieve it from the water.

Staff from Hobbs of Henley fished out awnings and umbrellas thrown in on the same night.

Ama is the name given to the Japanese and Korean women divers, or “ladies of the sea”, who collect pearls.

Henley was one of 20 locations around the world chosen to have a statue as a “place of beauty near water”.