THIEVES have stolen a “precious” statue of the Virgin Mary from a concrete plinth outside a church, reports the Bournemouth Echo. 

The statue, which is around four feet six inches tall, has stood outside St Matthias in Ringwood Road, Poole, for four months.

However, when members of a fitness class arrived at the venue on Wednesday morning, the statue was nowhere to be found.

Reverend Jonathan Martin said he hopes the thieves will return the Virgin.

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