An artist said he was 'gutted' today after a carving of a badger in a public park was decapitated with a chainsaw.

A vandal has lopped the head off the animal - which was carved with a chainsaw, by Newmarket-based artist Tim Atkins.

The badger is one of a number of animals carved from beech trunks in Wisbech Park.

Today Mr Atkins said the work was probably not repairable.

'I'm gutted to hear that,' he said. 'It took a couple of days to make, I was up there for weeks doing all the carvings.

'It's not easily repairable by the sound of it. We'll have to make it into something else.'

Today Fenland District Council, which runs the park, said the motive behind the attack was a mystery.

'There was a badger and a squirrel done at the same time and the total cost was �1,000,' a spokesman said.

'It's been there between two and three years and it's a complete mystery why anyone would want to do what they did to it.

'It looks like it's been bashed off, it's taken a fair old whack - it's just an act of mindless vandalism.

'It's very sad. There are a number of scultpures in the park and they're popular with people all year round.'

Park-goers noticed the damage to the badger over the weekend. The council believes the damage happened days or even weeks ago.