Stolen Nutcracker Recovered!

[Hereford Voice]

Reports of a stolen 7ft Christmas Nutcracker was not the usual type of crime West Mercia Police expected to receive. Sadly, for families doing Hereford City Life’s Nutcracker Trail, one was stolen outside All Saints Church on Christmas Eve, meaning hundreds of families struggled to complete the popular event.

Mike Truelove, CEO for the Hereford BID and organisation behind Hereford City Life said, “from what we understand, it appears that the 7ft Nutcracker was cut from it’s position outside All Saints church and abandoned nearby before two passers-by picked it up and loaded it into a mini before driving off on Christmas Eve”. Mike continued, “In the great scheme of things, this was not a serious crime, however, a theft did occur and the Nutcracker damaged, meaning many families enjoying the trail struggled to continue. Thankfully, most went on to complete the trail which ended at the Tourist Information Centre in St Owen Street. It meant a lot to us to have the item returned and we are enormously thankful to both Herefordshire Council’s CCTV service and West Mercia Police for diligently locating the missing Nutcracker and returning it back to our office – we know how busy these services are, doing vital work to protect the Herefordshire public”.

The Nutcracker Trail saw approximately 1200 people hunt for the statues with happy children receiving a toy for their efforts. Hereford City Life hope to bring this back again for 2023 along with other Christmas attractions to lure shoppers into the city.

Hereford City Life is a consumer brand of Hereford Business Improvement District, run on behalf of BID members. Hereford BID is a non-profit private company (limited) funded by 500 businesses in the city centre. The organisation has 3 core strands underpinning its business plan, a document based on feedback from its member businesses on what they want to see happen, these are: i) High Profile Hereford - Marketing and Events ii) The Hereford Experience – Safe and Clean iii) Business Voice – Lobbying & Support. The company is run by up to 15 board directors who are also levy paying members.