The manager of an Edinburgh cocktail bar will speak to police today over the “catastrophic” theft of an eight-foot tall nutcracker from outside his venue.
In what can only be described as a total nightmare before Christmas, a person riding an e-bike guaranteed a place on the naughty list by stealing the Copper Blossom’s festive statue on Monday.
They are seen on CCTV placing the soldier across their lap and riding off into the night down George Street towards St Andrew Square.
Speaking to The UK Tonight on Sky News, manager Paul Paxton said it was a massive financial blow for his bar.
“The individual nutcrackers are about £900 each,” he revealed.
The stolen one is named Nolan, while his “brother” Nelson remains “safe and sound”.
They were part of the Copper Blossom’s outdoor Christmas display, and Nelson has now been moved into the foyer.
Mr Paxton said he would be speaking with police today about their investigation, with sightings having been reported “around Edinburgh” later on the night of the incident.
Nolan, who the owner described as “massive”, was taken at around 10.10pm. The CCTV footage shows the thief removing the statue and dragging it on to their bike.
As if losing a £900 nutcracker wasn’t bad enough, a table costing hundreds of pounds was also broken.
“It’s pretty catastrophic,” said Mr Paxton.
The bar had originally put out an appeal that said “if you return it, we’re all good” – but he admitted he doesn’t expect Nolan’s return any time soon.
And while he’d “never want someone to go into harm’s way”, he told Jayne Secker he was a little disappointed no witnesses alerted him or his staff to the theft.
“There were about 12 or 13 people who walked past,” he said.
“Even if someone had run in, that could have helped. It wasn’t a quick process – he fell off his bike.
“A heads-up would have been lovely.”
