A controversial statue in the town of Aylesbury of the late pop icon David Bowie has been vandalised for the second time in six months.

A 29 year old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage after the statue was defaced with blue paint last Thursday (October 11th). This happened just hours after it had been professionally cleaned and wax, a clean-up job necessitated when the statue was vandalised just 48 hours after it was unveiled back in May this year, with a vandal writing “feed the homeless first” in front of it.

The statue had been the brainchild of music promoter David Stopps, who raised £100,000 for the statue via crowdfunding on top of various grants. Speaking to the BBC, Stopps said the latest vandalism was “so upsetting”.

David BowieThe statue of Bowie has been vandalised for the second time in just six months

“Bowie fans are coming from all over the world to see the statue and this really doesn't do justice to the thousands of local people that supported this project,” he continued. However, Stopps said the statue, entitled 'Earthly Messenger', will be “restored to its former glory as soon as possible”.

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The statue was designed by sculptor Andrew Sinclair, and features a likeness of Bowie in 2002 regarding a selection of his alter egos down the years, with the Ziggy Stardust character at the front.

It was in the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury that Bowie first debuted his iconic Ziggy persona in the early 1970s at the Friars Music Club.

PC Terry Lewis said, of this week’s incident: “I am appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who has any information that may help with this investigation. If you recognise any of the symbols in the photos, please let us know. I would also like to encourage anyone who owns a CCTV camera in this area to review the footage from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.”

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