A St. John’s family who put out cheerful decorations each year to help raise spirits, have had their parade rained on by thieves.

Ian Jones says they decided to purchase the bright and colourful mermaid and unicorn during the COVID lockdown to help cheer themselves – and others – up.

He describes the 6 foot tall mermaid as “super bright and glittery and she’s got graceful arms stretching out to greet passers-by, and she was standing next to a unicorn…they’re pretty distinctive.”

The decorations adorned the family’s Carpasian Road lawn each year when the daylight hours get shorter.

Jones told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly that he was disappointed to wake up this morning to find the decorations gone.

He figures the thieves used a pickup to make off with them because they’re so big.

“They were very well-secured,” says Jones. “They were basically bolted-down with rebar, driven a couple of feet into the ground, and secured with industrial-strength zip ties, so it’s almost like they would have had to use burglary tools to remove them.”

He’s asking the public to keep their eyes open and for the thieves to bring them back.