Scarecrow stolen from Hampshire village festival display in Droxford inspires creative crime scene

Droxford Scarecrow Festival returned this month for its third instalment following its success in 2019 with nearly 100 scarecrows dotted around the village for the two-week display.

But on the night of Sunday, September 18 one scarecrow went missing and hasn’t been seen since. Following the incident, a number of scarecrows have also been brutally beheaded, including the head of one resident’s 'Jim Carrey- The Mask' scarecrow.

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A concerned resident posted on Facebook: “Bit of a strange post! Droxford is currently enjoying its 3rd scarecrow festival and tonight one of the best scarecrows in the village, a member of the flax pistols has been stolen from the front of the creator’s house.

“She was one of four and an absolute genius scarecrow. The owner would love her back to join the other members of the band.”

Creator Richard Keohane, a cabinet maker from the village, has made light of the situation by quickly turning the display into a crime scene with a forensic scientist and ‘DI Gummidge’ investigating the missing scarecrow and interviewing suspects.

Richard has taken part every year with his 11-year-old daughter Ottilie. The pair currently have their scarecrows on display in the village high street outside Richard’s uncle’s house.

The creative local went as far to add tears to the remaining band member and boyfriend to the missing scarecrow named Sheena Ramone. Mr Keohane said “It’s kind of flattery and annoyance but it gave us an opportunity to do something different."

The punk rocker scarecrow was stolen around 7.30pm, with Richard’s uncle suspecting it was a drive by incident as he heard a car screech off the road. Within an hour of receiving his uncle's call, Richard had come up with a new idea and made the two extra scarecrows.

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The cabinet maker continued: “The reception has been mad, really funny and taken really well.

“Sheena was dressed quite nicely with a leather jacket on, but it was all from the charity shop so its of no great significance to me. Nobody is really upset about anything that has gone missing it’s just a shame as it was my daughter’s favourite one and she really put some effort into her face on that one.

“Sheena Ramone is sadly missed by her boyfriend Billy. I’ve created their whole story in my head.”

Last year, the father and daughter duo made Elvis and the lady of the night. Richard spends as little as he can and utilises waste by recycling left over materials from past jobs.

The Droxford scarecrow makers have not been deterred from taking part in future festivals. This year's event will continue to showcase the village's scarecrow creations until September 24.