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this meet the police Appeal for information follows bronze statue boxing Icon Teddy Baldock stolen from a US park east london, The thieves left only the boxer’s boxing boots.
The statue, estimated to be worth around £100,000, was prized from its stone plinth outside Langdon Park in 2017. persistent organic pollutants Sunday and was placed on a three-wheeled cargo bike covered with a high-visibility jacket.
Police were notified of the disappearance at around 8pm and obtained CCTV footage which showed four suspects at the scene, dressed in black and with their faces covered.
Detective Superintendent Oliver Richter said: “We know it is a very distressing moment for members of our community when a memorial to a local hero is treated in this way.
“I want to reassure the public that our officers are working quickly to identify those responsible and will continue to follow every available investigative lead.”
Police said the suspect was last seen heading north towards Bromley-by-Bow tube station.
Known as the “Pride of Poplar,” Baldock turned professional at the age of 14. He quickly became a prominent figure and well-known in the British sporting world.
As a professional, he fought 81 times in venues including Madison Square Garden, and in 1927, at the age of 19, he won the bantamweight title at the Royal Albert Hall and remains Britain’s youngest boxing world champion.
By his mid-twenties, Baldock was exhausted. He quit the sport, turned to drinking and gambling, and eventually died in poverty at the age of 63.
Baldock’s grandson Martin Sax, who was two years old when he died, told us the times: “I feel frustrated and angry at the same time. It’s an amazing piece of art and to think that people have stolen it and the next thing that’s going to happen is that it will be melted down and an iconic statue of a British sporting hero in the center of London will be reduced to scrap – it’s really sad.”
Mr Sacks spent years raising funds for the statue, which was erected in 2014.
Mr. Sacks learned of his grandfather’s legacy after looking through old scrapbooks.
“When he was fighting at the Albert Hall, they said there were 12 buses full of people leaving the East End. They were sold out,” he told the newspaper. “I think, sadly, when you turn pro so young there’s a price to pay.
“My hope is that with the media coverage, the statue itself may become too hot to handle.
“You know, any scrap metal dealer probably wouldn’t want to touch it, so if it can be salvaged, it can be repaired.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 1111.
A spokesman for Tower Hamlets Council said: “We are shocked that the Teddy Baldock statue has been stolen from Langdon Park. The ‘Pride of the Poplars’ statue is an important part of the borough’s history and means so much to our community.”
“As part of the police investigation we are reviewing CCTV in the hope that the statue can be found and the offenders caught.”