'Theft was act of pure disrespect to Grandad by 4 scumbags'

Family’s fury at statue raid

- BY JAMES KNUCKEY

A LEGENDARY boxer whose bronze statue was stolen from a park would have “knocked out” the brazen thieves who took it, his devastated family have said.

The monument honouring Teddy Baldock was put in place in 2014 after a four-year fundraising campaign by his grandson Martin Sax.

However, it was stolen from Langdon Park, Poplar, East London, on Sunday evening.

Four people dressed in black with their faces covered can be seen pulling it off its plinth in CCTV footage that has been released by police.

Martin, 56, said that the “scumbag” thieves showed disrespect to a local legend.

He said: “What would my grandad think of the statue being torn down by four scumbags?

“It wouldn’t have happened in his time because he was hero-worshipped.