THE theft of a 6ft bronze statue of Minerva, The Goddess of Learning, has left the residents of a Banffshire town puzzled.

Twenty years ago it took a helicopter to lower the statue onto a plinth outside Keith Community Centre.

''It's a mystery,'' a staff member at the Community Centre said yesterday. ''She was there when we went home last night and now there's an empty plinth. The police are investigating and I understand they have found footprints nearby.''

Keith Councillor Patricia Mann said: ''She was a very pretty statue and a real feature of the town. I would appeal for anyone who saw anything on Thursday night to report it to the police.''