Children are believed to have defaced a 230-year-old statue using crayons provided in a museum activity pack. The stone facade of a historic 18th-century sculpture by John Bacon is now covered head to toe with blue markings, with scribbles pictured on its face, limbs, and torso. The sculpture of Sabrina, a Roman nymph, is reportedly one of two that was defaced after staff at Croome Court, a National Trust property near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, handed out Easter activity packs.

The packs were handed to families during the holiday period this year as part of a specially organised trail.

But staff were shocked to find the statue was defaced, with a memorial commemorating Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, a renowned gardener and landscape architect, also found covered in scribbles on April 8.

The late gardener is remembered via a plaque and relief kept on the mansion grounds.

A dedication reads: “To the memory of Lancelot Brown who, by the power of his inimitable and creative genius formed this garden scene out of a morass.”

Pictures show the writing partially obscured by crayon markings, with scrawls also visible on the cherub depicted on the accompanying relief.

A statement from the National Trust shared by the Museums Association said the team at Croome was “understandably upset at the discovery”.

A spokesman told the BBC that the trial had run for a week and was followed by “hundreds of families” before the incidents.

They said that, “like lots of other heritage organisations” the Trust regularly runs events for families and often issues “pencils or crayons”.

The statement from the organisation added that the National Trust enlisted conservators and an outdoor manager who cleaned the memorial.

While the crayon was removed from the statue “without the help of external cleaners or expensive specialist materials”, the National Trust is still considering how to restore the memorial.

Efforts to restore the surface are reportedly ongoing, with trials searching for the best methods.

The National Trust Spokesman said that “disappointing” discoveries like the recent incidents are “very rare considering the millions of visitors who enjoy and respect the places in our care”.

The Trust has not identified who is responsible for the statue and memorial markings.

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