A community group has been left “disappointed and saddened” after six of its crocheted Pokémon were thought to have been “selfishly” stolen.

Volunteers from yarn and haberdashery shop Unravel and Unwind CIC created the postbox topper which was part of a free Easter trail across Gillingham.

However, over the bank holiday weekend, the display, opposite St Mark’s Church, in Canterbury Street, disappeared.

Kaden Brown, a retail assistant at the wool shop, said the first they knew it was missing was when a video was posted online by someone saying they could not find six of the Pokémon.

She added: “We have done this as a community project and have had to tell all the excited children there are six they cannot now find.

“It is absolutely disappointing. It is quite sad but we are hoping that someone will have seen it and know where it is.”

There were originally 46 crocheted Pokémon to hunt down across the town but six including Oddish, Leafeon and Voltorb, are missing.

Each creation took around six hours to make and countless balls of yarn.

In an online statement, a spokesman for Unravel and Unwind CIC said: “When we create for the enjoyment of others that go out in public we do go into it expecting some damage.

“However, there will now be lots of disappointment for children and families who love Pokémon, in addition to the makers of the six that were part of this topper.

“Sometime over the Easter weekend someone selfishly removed the topper.

“A lot of time, energy and personal funding went into creating this fun Easter trail for all to enjoy. As makers, we put our own funds into this project.”

The community interest company is appealing for the topper to be returned either back to the postbox or to its store.

The trail is running until April 30 and there will be a prize draw at the end with donations from The Salvation Army Gillingham and Cataclysm Games UK.