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Tristan WheelerManjimup-Bridgetown Times
Grow Greenbushes president Terry Cooper with the damaged battery at the southern tin man statue.
Camera IconGrow Greenbushes president Terry Cooper with the damaged battery at the southern tin man statue. Credit: Supplied

Thieves struck the Greenbushes community overnight Thursday, stealing a solar panel and battery from the town’s southern highway entrance statement and damaging the lighting power sources for the northern and southern tin man statues.

The southern tin man statue’s solar-powered lighting battery was dropped onto concrete and destroyed after being removed from its housing.

At the northern tin man statue, a power cable was cut, causing it to arc and create a small fire around the solar panel battery, leaving the area surrounding the battery covered in a black coating.

Pat Scallan from Grow Greenbushes and the Greenbushes Eco-Discovery Centre said the theft and vandalism were disappointing and called for the public to be vigilant.

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“Naturally we are very disturbed, because it’s not just the discovery centre, it’s the whole community,” Mr Scallan said.

“We put grant monies together, we built them ourselves, so there is a lot of ownership there and a lot of pride in what we’ve done, ”

Mr Scallan estimated that each solar panel and battery were valued at about $3000-$4000,

It is not the first time that the installations have been targeted for theft, with a solar panel and battery being stolen previously.

Bridgetown police have requested that anyone with information regarding the theft contact them.

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