Antlers on a life-size sculpture of a stag in Savernake Park appear to have been sawn off in a spate of ‘wanton vandalism’.

Clean cut marks can be seen towards the base of each antler suggesting they were deliberately removed. Ken Toogood, one of those who spotted the damage, said it looked ‘premeditated’.

He told the News: “They’ve been quite clandestine about it. Whoever did it took the trouble to come out do it with a saw – so it’s premeditated.”

He added: “It’s a bit of a local icon. You often see parents taking pictures with their kids sitting on it or standing near it. It’s sad to see it in such a state. This is just wanton vandalism.”

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Patrick Smith, a Swinley Forest ward councillor, said there had been a concerning ‘pattern’ of similar damage recently, including to Savernake’s wooden play parks.

He told the News: “It seems over the last four or five weeks there’s been a spate of incidents.

“It’s odd. There’s clearly an individual or a number of individuals doing it. There does appear to be a pattern here which is obviously quite concerning.”

Councillor Smith said park rangers have reported the damage to Thames Valley Police, which is now investigating. He also said that rangers are making sure play equipment is safe.

But he said he didn’t know whether the stag sculpture could be repaired. He said: “The damage to the deer sculpture is the one that’s most concerning to people and heartfelt.

“Probably every child in Bracknell has a photo with that sculpture which sadly has now been damaged. I would be stumped as to what would motivate someone to do that. It’s obviously distressing and I hope that the police will be successful in their inquiries.”

He added: “It’s part of the heritage of the park. It’s quite sad and infuriating when these things happen.”

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Bracknell Forest Council’s head of natural estates Stephen Chown said the council was speaking with the company that supplied the sculpture to find out if it could be repaired.

He said: “The council was notified of the damage to the stag and play equipment at Savernake Park on February 17. This is a popular and well used area, so we believe the vandalism was reported to us quickly.

“We are currently talking to the original supplier of the sculpture to understand whether it can be repaired in the first instance. The council has funding for general site maintenance so we’re hopeful the cost of any repairs will be covered.

“We would encourage anyone with information to report it to the police, quoting crime reference number INC-20240219-1127.”