Great social reformer MP loses his seat
Scrap metal thieves have stolen a bronze statue of one of Britain's great social reformers from its plinth next to the Thames.
The statue of Dr Alfred Salter, worth £17,500, was taken from Cherry Garden Pier in Bermondsey on Friday night. It is the latest in a series of thefts which have seen church roofs, railway cables and even war memorials stripped of metal.
Dr Salter, who was born in 1873, was renowned for his dedication to helping the poor.
After training as a doctor at nearby Guy's Hospital he set up a medical practice in Bermondsey in 1900 and offered his services free of charge to people who couldn't afford them.
Other good works included a campaign for a solarium to treat tuberculosis sufferers, of whom there were hundreds at the time.
The selfless doctor went on to be elected MP for Bermondsey in 1922 and held the seat until shortly before his death in 1945.
The statue, which was erected in 1991, shows an elderly Dr Salter sitting on a bench and waving to his daughter Joyce.
