Giant 40ft straw Peter Rabbit sculpture set on fire by mystery yobs is destroyed in blaze
Cops investigate after sculpture that weighed eight tonnes is burned down in Cheshire field
A 40FT-HIGH straw sculpture of Peter Rabbit has been destroyed after it was torched by yobs.
Fire crews from Nantwich, Cheshire, tackled the blaze after the statue - made by a local ice cream firm last summer - went up in flames around 5.30pm yesterday.
It was created last year to mark the 150th anniversary of author Beatrix Potter's birth.
It weighed an impressive eight tonnes and the cause of the fire is now being investigated.
A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "A 40-foot high straw Peter Rabbit figure was well alight, so firefighters used one hose reel jet to extinguish the fire."
Police have confirmed they are investigating the fire.
The childhood favourite first appeared in 1902 in The Tale Of Peter Rabbit.
It has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and as of 2008 the Peter Rabbit series has sold more than 151million copies in 35 languages.
Actress Emma Thompson penned a new Peter Rabbit story in 2012 called The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit.
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