Famous Attraction ‘Bee Unique’ has head sawed off by Vandals

Early in the morning of Sunday the 12th April, a local resident reported the vandalisation of Longsight’s famous Bee Unique sculpture.

The Sculpture (as seen above) was sawed off by a currently unknown vandal and has now been covered by a temporary black bag before reconstruction can begin.

This came as a surprise to many in early April, especially given Longsight had seen one of its lowest levels of crime just one month prior – with March 2020 seeing just three reported cases of street crime compared to 117 incidents reported in the same month the previous year.

The Bee Unique sculpture is symbolic of Longsight as a whole. Designed by graffiti artist Russel Meeham – who goes by the name Quebek.

The statue was based on drawings given to him by students from Stanley Grove Primary Academy.

Combined with his own creative outlook, the bee design was conceived and can be considered an amalgamation of everything that makes Longsight unique, with the vibrant array of colours representing the many different cultures and communities living side by side.

The cultural importance of the Bee is a source of pride for the people of Longsight and this act of vandalism has sparked outrage across social media, with angry citizens taking to Twitter to vent their frustration

Yet the spirit of the Bee lives on, and while this incident will undoubtedly be a topic of content for the months to come, has proven the strong sense of community that holds the people of Longsight together.