Town mayor offers reward after vandals dig up precious time capsule

A town community near Bristol has been left ‘absolutely devastated’ after a time capsule buried five years ago was dug up and stolen - with the mayor now offering a £200 cash reward to help catch the culprits.

The time capsule was buried by The Sodbury Big Lunch team as part of Chipping Sodbury’s 800 anniversary celebrations in the town’s Millennium Gardens. It was not set to be dug back up until the year 2118.

Inside were precious items which offered a snapshot in time of the town. They included timely pieces donated by local businesses and made by local school children such as a book of photos showing every shop front in the town.

But today, The Sodbury Big Lunch organiser Alexandra Arnall revealed that the capsule had been stolen when sharing an image on social media of a dislodged paving slab over where it had been buried.

She said: “We are absolutely devastated and shocked that our Big Lunch time capsule, buried in 2018 as part of the celebrations to mark Chipping Sodbury’s 800th anniversary, has been dug up and stolen from the Millennium Gardens.

“Not only were the items inside a snapshot in time of our wonderful town, they were irreplaceable pieces of history donated by local businesses with many items made especially by local schoolchildren.

“We had taken photos of every business owner in the town outside their premises, some of which have now changed hands, and made a detailed album cataloguing our local town’s economy in that year.

“Also contained were lots of items to remember the medieval celebrations of 2018 marking the anniversary.Not to forget the time and effort that went into collecting all the memorabilia and photographs.

“We are truly devastated by such wanton vandalism and theft of something meant for future generations to learn about Chipping Sodbury’s history.”

Mayor James Ball, who helped Alexandra bury the capsule, also shared his feelings on social media. He also offered a £200 reward ‘for any information that helps the police find the culprits’.

He said: “They [The Sodbury Big Lunch team] all worked so hard to put some very sentimental items in there for the next generations to see. Over the weekend, it was dug up by some complete imbeciles and stolen. I’m sickened and disgusted that this has happened, yet another needless and spiteful crime.”

Anyone with information on the theft or the wehreabouts of the capsule is urged to call Avon and Somerset Police on 111.