Prop gravestone of Dickens’ character Scrooge destroyed weeks before Christmas

The prop gravestone of Charles Dickens’ quality Ebenezer Scrooge, which featured successful the 1984 movie A Christmas Carol, has been destroyed.

Once filming was completed, the inscribed chromatic utilized arsenic Ebenezer Scrooge’s sedate remained successful the grounds of St Chad’s Church successful Claremont Hill, Shrewsbury, and has since go a fashionable tourer attraction.

West Mercia Police said the headstone was vandalised “within the past 3 days”, with pictures showing it smashed into astatine slightest 2 pieces and overturned.

The film, which was mostly filmed connected determination successful Shrewsbury, starred George C Scott arsenic Scrooge.

The sedate features successful the movie erstwhile the shade of Christmas Future takes the miserly main quality to a cemetery, where, upon wiping distant snow, helium sees his ain sanction connected the chromatic and vows to alteration his ways.

In a statement, Pc Jono Lightfoot said: “If you were successful the country betwixt Thursday November 21 and yesterday (Sunday November 24), and witnessed immoderate antithetic behaviour, delight get successful interaction arsenic it whitethorn assistance with our inquiries.”

Email jono.lightfoot@westmercia.police.uk quoting incidental fig 288i of November 24, oregon telephone Crimestoppers anonymously connected 0800 555 111.