Thieves steal from Torrington's charity bonfire

THIEVES have stolen two stained glass windows made specially for the Torrington Cavaliers charity bonfire. The huge bonfire has been created in the form of a medieval castle and elaborately decorated, including six stained glass windows made by local ret

THIEVES have stolen two stained glass windows made specially for the Torrington Cavaliers' charity bonfire.

The huge bonfire has been created in the form of a medieval castle and elaborately decorated, including six stained glass windows made by local retired doctor Paul Bungay.

In the early hours of last Saturday two of the foot-square windows were removed from their fixings. One depicts the S of the Superman design and the other shows an arrow.

Cavaliers' chairman Chris Stacey said: "These were kindly made and donated by our local retired doctor Paul Bangay, who put many hours of work into them. It is a great disappointment that anyone would consider doing this as the whole event is to raise money for people less fortunate than us in health.

"Our CCTV system recorded the two thieves walking down New Street / top of Station Hill at 02.04. They then walked on to the Commons, passing the chuckwagon site and down to the bonfire. At 02.12 they were seen on the ramparts removing the windows and then leaving the castle at 02.16 over the drawbridge then turning right to exit around the rear. We have a good shot of one and we are now in the process of identifying them."

If those involved returned the windows to the castle as soon as possible, no further action would be taken. If they were not returned, the CCTV footage would be handed over to the police, he said.

After two years of preparation and building work the castle bonfire will be set ablaze on Saturday, August 28, accompanied by a fireworks display. The spectacle is expected to attract thousands of people and will raise funds for the Children's Hospice South West and the North Devon Cancer Care Centre .