Thieves steal British Legion soldier statue from Remembrance Day display ahead of commemorations

Theft comes after another silhouette's head was broken off in Herefordshire

The statue (not pictured) was one of numerous British Legion 'silent silhouettes' installed across the UK ahead of Remembrance Day (Royal British Legion)

Thieves have stolen a British Legion soldier statue from a Remembrance Day display ahead of commemorations.

The silhouette disappeared from in Abercarn, Caerphilly, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Gwent Police said.

The force is appealing for information on the theft, which came before a remembrance service to mark 100 years since the armistice.

The Royal British Legion has been sending the silhouettes around Britain as part of commemorations, saying they symbolise communities that served in the First World War.

The charity said their installation serves as a “thank you to the generation who served, sacrificed, rebuilt and changed the nation”.

In October, the head was knocked off another "Tommy" silhouette in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

On Friday, Britain’s first statue of a South Asian First World War soldier was graffitied, just days after being unveiled.

The 10ft statue of a Sikh soldier stands outside a gurdwara in Smethwick, near Birmingham, as part of a monument called the Lions of the Great War.

Police are treating the vandalism as racially aggravated criminal damage.

Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick had commissioned the statue to honour the sacrifices made by South Asian service personnel of all faiths from the Indian subcontinent who fought for Britain in the Great War and other conflicts.

Police said they would gather information on the incident at a memorial held by the statue on Sunday.