Vandals have destroyed the "shocking display" outside of a charity shop in Malvern giving the illusion of a homeless person.

Amaze charity shop in Malvern sparked controversy with its display of a mannequin in a sleeping bag, and then a cardboard box, outside of its shop over the last few weeks.

However, on Tuesday, January 11 overnight the display was torn apart.

Chris Lee, co-founder and co-director of Amaze, said: "We built the cardboard replacement as the original display was stolen.

"We used a box because it's something that a lot of homeless people do have to sleep in. 

"It happened on the Tuesday night or the Wednesday morning but nobody knows anything about it.

"We have a camera on the mannequin normally to judge people's reactions.

"The counter and the till are at the back of the shop and the mannequin is at the front so it helps us to see what's going on.

"But, we don't run it at night."

The mannequin was originally  in a sleeping bag on the doorstep of the shop to give the illusion of a rough sleeper and was accompanied by a sign that read: "Down here is a bad place for a poster, it's an even worse place to live."

A police officer said it was "shocking" and members of the public were concerned the mannequin was a dead body but Mr Lee refused to move it.

Then the mannequin was stolen and it was replaced with a mannequin's head sticking out of a cardboard box, which was torn apart in the latest attack.

"We managed to recover the head and the hair from driveways and hedges down Richmond road, which is obviously where they made their escape.

"I haven't reported it to the police as there was no financial loss, it was just vandalism and a case of tidying up."