Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Millions watch cobble ‘theft’
A Tiktoker who went viral after sharing a video of her jokingly taking a cobblestone from the city centre has called for it to be returned - after it was stolen following her visit.
The social media user attracted millions of views after sharing a clip of her removing the loose stone from the ground near Canterbury Cathedral, with the caption “souvenir acquired”. Many were left furious the visitor had seemingly nabbed the item and left a hole in the ground.
But she reassured followers she did it to be a “little bit funny” and swiftly returned the cobblestone to Mercery Lane, near Canterbury Cathedral’s Christchurch Gate. However, the Gazette visited the site on Tuesday to find the brick was missing from the road. User @arorio_art’s video has been viewed more than 3.7 million times and attracted hundreds of comments.
One person said: “Hey, this is Canterbury! I live there. Put it back.”
Another user commented: “I kicked that exact one the other day and it hurt like hell. I hate to break it to you but that one is bad luck.”
While another person said: “Oh God. Not Canterbury.” Following a backlash, @ arorio_art posted an update on Tuesday to say she had left the stone in place.
“I did not pick up that rock,” she said.
“I put that rock back and picked it up for the purpose of the video. I thought it would be a little bit funny - which I shouldn’t have done and I’m sorry for that.”
“I did not expect that video to get nearly as much attention as it did.
“I definitely didn’t think it would put the idea into other people’s heads to go and take the rock.”
A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “Causing damage to the highway is an offence, with a maximum penalty of £1,000, and costs KCC money to rectify. “We would urge people not to damage roads or pavements in this way.”