A SHOCKED resident challenged a group of young people who were making off with a 5ft statue of the Virgin Mary.

Tim Brennan called police after forcing the four, who were in their early 20s, to put the religious relic down.

The 68-year-old said he came across the group carrying the statue which had been prised off its plinth in the grounds of English Martyrs RC Church in The Sands, Whalley.

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Father-of-two and grandfather-of-four Mr Brennan said: “I was walking on the road and I saw this group of people coming towards me. I saw that one of the lads had the statue on his shoulder and I asked what they were doing. They told me that they had just found it and I said that they had better put it back where they picked it up.

“There was no way that it was going any further once I had seen it and I was determined to stop them.

“A couple from the village came up behind them and at that point the youngster put the statue down and went off.”

“That sort of behaviour is boarding on sacrilegious and it’s a shame that it has happened.

“It will mean a lot to people who attend the church and those that visit the shrine.”

The hollow statue, which is made out of stone and had been in the church grounds for around 30 years, was undamaged.

It has been locked away for safe keeping ahead of its return to the shrine near the entrance to the church close to Whalley Abbey.

It will be repainted and restored before being put back into place.

The statue itself forms one of a number of similar icons which are placed to the left and right of the main church entrance. Among them are depictions of Jesus Christ and a number of saints and historical figures.