[MSN] U.K. THIEVES who stole a block of stone thinking it was a rare ichthyosaur fossil are in for a big surprise.

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Mock rock theft shock
By Martin Lea
Comment
 
MISSING: The stolen reproduction ichthyosaur fossil 
http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.1740887.0.mock_rock_theft_shock.php


THIEVES who stole a block of stone thinking it was a rare ichthyosaur fossil
are in for a big surprise.

It is actually a startling reproduction made by budding stone artist Phil
Anslow.

Mr Anslow, whose works have attracted interest from the Natural History
Museum, donated the piece for a display in Weymouth's Greenhill Gardens.

But it was stolen from the gardens' storage area before the public got a
chance to see it.

Mr Anslow was devastated when he heard - but has vowed to create another
piece for the Friends of Greenhill Gardens.

The Friends have been working with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to
improve the gardens and attract more people to the area.

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One idea is to display a range of art, so members were delighted when Mr
Anslow offered his talents for free.

The donated piece, an anatomically correct drawing of an ichthyosaur fossil
etched into a block of Purbeck stone more than one metre long, was being
stored in the council depot behind the cafe. It was to be the main feature
in a landscaped area.

Mr Anslow said: "It's unbelievably heavy and took two of us to lift it.

"How on earth they got it over a six foot high fence I'll never know."

He added: "The people who took it may think they've got a real fossil. In
fact if it was a real fossil of a fully grown ichthyosaur it would be 15m
long.

"I'm devastated it's been stolen because it was my first piece and I'm
really proud of it."

Mr Anslow, 51, of Dorchester Road, Weymouth, is a landscape gardener but
hopes to develop his talents as a stone artist after coming up with the
environmentally friendly idea of reproducing fossils.

He has displayed various pieces at the Lyme Regis Fossil Fair and at an
event organised by University College, London, where experts from the
Natural History Museum took interest in his work.

Borough council parks supervisor Carl Dallison said: "The theft is a real
blow because we're trying to encourage people into our open spaces by
displaying public art."We were interested in Phil's work because it's
different and original.

"While we don't anticipate it will be brought back we also hope it won't
just get dumped in a ditch."

Contact police on 01305 222222.

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