ONE of the Clyde Games mascot statues has been stolen, prompting the entire Clyde sculpture trail to be dismantled.

The remaining 24 Clyde statues - which form part of the Commonwealth trail around the city - are being removed for their own safety, a council spokesman said.

Police Scotland said they were investigating the theft of a Clyde statue from Edmiston Drive, Ibrox, which they believe occurred overnight on Wednesday.

A city council spokesman said some of the other Clydes on the trail had been vandalised or defaced, prompting them to dismantle the trail early. The Clyde outside the Victoria Infirmary, one of the first to be removed from the trail, had been due to remain in situ until the end of the school holidays.

The spokesman said: "We were informed by Police Scotland that the Clyde statue on Edmiston Drive was missing. We believe it has been stolen.

"In recent days, there have been incidents of vandalism to some of the Clydes along the trail, including defacement of the plaques and QR codes, which are there to help people complete the trail using the Clyde's Trail smartphone app.

"To ensure the safety of the remaining Clydes, we have decided to begin removing them."

The Clyde statue that was stolen, , which stood on the corner of Edmiston Drive and Paisley Road West, was last month targeted by vandals with black paint.

Catherine Yuill, 38, from Lambhill, who started a petition calling for Clyde to be made the official mascot of Glasgow, was disappointed to hear of the theft.

She said: "I'm quite shocked. It's quite sad. It's only four days since the Games finished - what kind of a message does this send out about Glasgow?"

Catherine, who started the petition because her seven-year-old son Callum Hannah 'loves Clyde', said the theft was despicable.

She added: "It's good to see the council are taking the rest of the Clydes in."

Online Evening Times readers also wrote of their disgust.

Peter Man wrote: "Something which could've been a tourist attraction and enjoyed by kids has been ruined. I hope police find those responsible and recover the lost Clyde."

While Jack Marshall wrote: "They obviously can't leave them out on the streets. I don't understand why anyone would take the statue anyway.

"It's not as if they can have it in their garden."

The trail, which was launched before the Games, proved a hit with locals and tourists, with thousands of people visiting all 25 fibreglass Clydes.

Soft toys of the character, designed by 14-year-old Beth Gilmour, from East Dunbartonshire, were the most popular merchandise items during the Games, with more than 50,000 sold since July.

A spokeswoman from Police Scotland said they were not aware of any vandalism to any of the other statues.

victoria.brenan@eveningtimes.co.uk