A statue of Margaret Thatcher was cut with eggs less than two hours after it was erected in her hometown of Grantham.
Onlookers disapproved of the new memorial to the torn former prime minister, with several drivers whistling as they passed. One man shouted, “Break it,” and another said, “That’s not good for Grantham, is it?”
The £ 300,000 statue was unveiled in Lincolnshire on Sunday after plans to place it in London’s Parliament Square were opposed due to fears it would be vandalized.
In Grantham, it was decided to place the statue on a 10-foot granite plinth, with a CCTV camera mounted directly opposite it in an attempt to deter vandals.
Reports initially submitted to the South Kesteven District Council show that the decision to place the statue in the area was made in light of concerns about “a motivated far-left movement … which may be involved in public action”.
After the large-scale opening ceremony worth £ 100,000 was approved by the council in 2020, a Facebook group offering an “egg-laying competition” at the event attracted more than 13,000 people.
About 2,400 others visited the Facebook page to say they would attend the event, which was to include “egg-laying … and potential graffiti art.”
On Sunday, a man in a white shirt appeared in front of the installation with a box of eggs and began throwing them at the statue behind a temporary fence that surrounds it.
Shout “Oh!” was heard after an egg hit its target and police arrived within minutes.
The statue remained behind the fence, but a council spokesman said the Public Monuments Appeal, which funded the statue through donations, would host an official unveiling ceremony at a later date.
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