Gavin & Stacey festival postbox topper vandalised

A Gavin & Stacey themed postbox topper, which appeared in Hay-on-Wye to mark an appearance by the stars of the show, has been vandalised twice in a week, its creator has said.

Last week, the postbox - painted gold in honour of Paralympics discus champion Josie Pearson - was decorated with two crocheted figures of main characters from the hit TV comedy.

James Corden and Ruth Jones, who wrote and starred in the show as Nessa and Smithy, were at the Hay Festival talking about their new book.

There was concern when the postbox topper disappeared this week, but its creator Reet Prendergast said it was being repaired after being damaged for a second time on Wednesday.

Passers-by spotted the woolly figures of Smithy and Nessa had vanished, leaving just the two posts where they once stood and Nessa's catchphrase, "oh, what's occurring", embroidered below.

"I came up one day and someone had snapped Nessa's legs. So I took her home to fix her and then put it back on again and then Smithy was broken as well, very sad, so I've taken them off home," Ms Prendergast said.

She added that she tried to make a new topper every month, and in the 18 months she has been doing it, this was the first time one had been damaged.

Ms Prendergast, however, said Smithy and Nessa would be back on back on top of the post box next week.

She also revealed that Smithy's head had been based on one previously used for Queen Camilla "with a bit of stubble" added.

One member of the public, Katie Packman, said: "I'm horrified. I can't believe anybody would steal Gavin & Stacey [characters]."

Hay-on-Wye, which sits on the Powys-Herefordshire border, has become synonymous with books and its literary festival has been running since 1988.

Jones and Corden's book When Gavin met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story of Love and Friendship, is due out in October.

The first series of Gavin & Stacey aired in 2007, but the series officially ended with a grand finale Christmas Day episode last year and became one of the most watched scripted TV shows of the century.

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