Spectacular insect hotel on Richmond Riverside ransacked by vandals
By The Editor 12th Jan 2021
The eye-catching bug hotel on Richmond Riverside has been attacked by vandals.
Last summer volunteers from charity group GoodGym Richmond put the finishing touches on the six-storey accommodation block after spending months building it in their spare time.
It sits proudly across the road from the entrance to Terrace Gardens on an area called the Three Pigeons Plot and walkers often stop and admire it.
Unfortunately, the hotel now needs repairs.
GoodGym wrote about the incident in a run report: "Ace sniffer dog Molly was one of the first witnesses to a heinous crime committed at Richmond's premier insect hotel.
"Molly and her trusty dog walker Anita stumbled onto the crime scene on Friday afternoon and were horrified to discover the ransacking of The Three Pigeons Insect Hotel.
Read more: Richmond has a new 5* hotel - but it's only for bugs
"Initial investigations suggest that thieves or pro-Trump protestors were responsible for completely stripping the sixth floor of the hotel and also removing the decorative cladding from the fourth floor.
"Three Pigeons, who witnessed the crime, tweeted about their shock and disbelief. It is believed that the attack may have resulted in insect fatalities with many more being left homeless."
A notice appealing for the return of the stolen items has been placed at the scene.
"Could the person(s) who removed the material, including log disks, from the insect hotel please return them," it reads.
"This is a volunteer-run community charity project."
Richmond resident and GoodGym Richmond member Anita Capewell who led the delivery of the hotel believes the logs may have been taken for a bonfire.
She told Richmond Nub News: "One of the Acers close to the hotel also got trampled and will need replacing.
"It is all replaceable, but so much work. Logs of just the right diameter sourced from Ham Lands, and then chainsawed to length or into decorative disks, holes drilled to create nesting for solitary bees. And only then positioned into the pallets."
Find out more about GoodGym Richmond here.
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