Child destroys $21,000 Lego display

Soon after the Lego sculpture was put on display, it immediately attracted dozens of children and their parents who wanted to take photos. Photos / Weibo

A sculpture comprising thousands of Lego bricks put on display at a popular shopping mall has been destroyed by a curious child who pushed it to the ground.

The artwork took three days and three nights to build, according to its creator, and it was shattered after being on display for less than one hour.

Zhao, a teacher from Ningbo City in East China, spent some NZ$21,200 (100,000 RMB) building the Lego-brick version of Nick Wilde, the hugely popular animated fox from this year's Disney hit Zootopia.

The sculpture was built by Zhao as a hobby, and it was chosen to be displayed at Wanda Plaza - one of many malls belonging to Wanda Group, owned by China's richest man Wang Jianlin.

Zhao, a teacher from Ningbo City in East China, spent some NZ$21,200 building the sculpture. Photo / Weibo

Reports said that soon after the Lego Nick Wilde was put on display, it immediately attracted dozens of children and their parents who wished to take a photograph with the 1.8-metre piece.

But at least four or five children ignored the safety barrier put up around the sculpture, reports said, and one five-year-old placed his hand on the sculpture while posing for a photo and accidentally pushed it over.

The boy's father is said to have apologised to Zhao after the incident. Photo / Weibo

Just like that, Zhao's work shattered on the hard ground of the shopping mall floor, with the teacher saying he felt particularly upset because he did not expect it to be destroyed so quickly.

"It took a lot of effort building the sculpture, especially the eyes. I had to change it a lot of times," he said.

The boy's father is said to have apologised to Zhao after the incident, but the teacher sympathised and said he would not be seeking compensation for the loss.

Zhao said: "The boy is young, and besides the staff are responsible too for not keeping an eye on the sculpture."

Reports said only about one-third of the Lego fox can be salvaged, as Zhao had glued many of the pieces together to keep them in place.