POLICE say they have interviewed a man after he admitted knocking over one of the Worcester Stands Tall giraffe sculptures.

Shocked eyewitnesses watched as a man charged at the giraffe outside the Pret cafe on The Cross and knocked over the sculpture on Tuesday evening.

The giraffe, called Gregory, had to be removed after the attack and a photo of a man said to be the culprit has been shared on social media.

A spokesman from West Mercia Police said yesterday: "Criminal damage was reported to police at 9.17pm on July 17. The damage is believed to have been caused at around 8.30pm in St Swithin's Street, Worcester.

"A male has admitted damaging an ornamental giraffe at the location. The giraffe has been removed and the area made safe. The male is due to be interviewed later today."

A 21-year-old woman told the Worcester News how she witnessed the vandalism taking place.

"I saw a man take a run up to the giraffe and he used his shoulder to push it to the floor. He then walked off towards The Crown pub and started kicking things down there.

"A woman that also saw chased after him and convinced him to come back to the giraffe. When he came back he was very drunk and was told it was for charity and what he had done was very disrespectful and he apologised and said he would stand holding the giraffe up until someone came to fix it."

Another person posted on social media that they saw the man trying to climb onto the giraffe the same night.

The giraffe was part of the Worcester Stands Tall art trail, a project raising money for St Richard's Hospice's Build 2020 appeal to expand its premises in order to care for more people.

Sara Matthews, the project manager for Worcester Stands Tall, was showing her friend around the art trail in the city when she had a call to say one of the giraffes had been damaged.

“It’s just so frustrating,” she told the Worcester News. "The amount of time and effort and money that has gone into this.

“It took the artist three weeks to paint the giraffe. All that effort and it’s gone within a matter of seconds. It’s damaged just like that.”

She said a drunk man in his 40s ran straight into the giraffe and knocked it off it’s plinth and onto the ground.

The giraffe was one of 30 towering sculptures located in the city as part of the art trail.

See worcesternews.co.uk for updates on the police investigation.