VANDALS have enraged locals after destroying a piece of LoKi artwork.

The mysterious artist returned to Ulverston last week when a number of life-sized figures appeared around the town, including on the main roundabout and in front of the Sir John Barrow Monument.

Yet while many welcomed the return of the unknown artist, his work in Lightburn Park was attacked on Friday, less than 24 hours after it appeared.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Keep off the grass <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoKiStreetArt?src=hash">#LoKiStreetArt</a> <a href="https://t.co/wADOI83Op8">pic.twitter.com/wADOI83Op8</a></p>— LoKi (@LoKiStreetArt) <a href="https://twitter.com/LoKiStreetArt/status/895955429309767684">11 August 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In a statement on Facebook, community group Friends of Lightburn Park said: "It's lovely to see LoKi share their artwork in the park but we're so disappointed that less than 24 hours later this art work has not been respected or appreciated and has been destroyed.

"It begs the question whether the volunteers of Lightburn Park should carry on their hard work to fundraise over £100,000 for improvements in the park if this is not going to be respected or appreciated either."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1 down, 9 remaining. Seems not everyone is a fan of <a href="https://twitter.com/LoKiStreetArt">@LoKiStreetArt</a> <a href="https://t.co/AXByMMUTH3">pic.twitter.com/AXByMMUTH3</a></p>— Ulverston & Furness (@ulvpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/ulvpolice/status/896067024685682692">11 August 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>