A STATUE symbolising the Baby Jesus has been stolen from a nativity scene outside a Scottish kirk for the third time in eight years.
The statue was realised to be missing from the scene outside Perth’s St John’s Kirk on Thursday morning, after the Perspex screen was reported to have been broken on Christmas Eve.
The church has called for the thief to “do the right thing” and return the statue.
The nativity scene was placed outside St John’s Kirk by Perth and Kinross Council.
Bill Wilson, St John’s Kirk clerk, called for the thief said: “This is sadly the second time that the Baby Jesus has been stolen from the nativity scene placed outside St John’s Kirk by the council, as it happened a few years ago.
“It seems such an unkind thing to do when the nativity scene is there to remind us all, especially children, why we celebrate Christmas.
“Amazingly, God came as a human baby to be amongst us so that we could relate to him.
“Last time the baby was returned quite soon. I hope that happens again this time and we appeal to whoever did this to do the right thing.”
The delivery driver who noticed the nativity scene covering had been broken and the statue missing told local press he thought “not again”.
Willie White, 68, added: “My initial thought was ‘Why can’t people just leave things alone?’ “This has happened a couple of times before and that is why there is a perspex screen now.
“Do we have to have iron bars on a nativity scene? It was a feeling of ‘not again’. “It is a shame with what little Christmas decorations we have in the area.”
Three teenagers were charged in connection with theft in 2016 when the Baby Jesus and a lamb were removed from the nativity display. The figures were then recovered by police.
The same thing happened in 2015, but the priest at the time managed to retrieve it.
