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The leg bone's connected to the knee bone, but there's no chance of Bony Tony leaving Cheltenham of his own accord.

The iconic Cheltenham skeleton was taken from outside the Regency Clinic on Hales Road yesterday morning and has not been seen since.

He bowed out from entertaining thousands of children over the past four years with a final hurrah on Valentine's Day, when staff at the healthcare centre gave him a girlfriend.

Sharing a scarf, the hopeless romantic held a rose in his teeth, much to the delight of passers by.

But it seems Bony Tony's love affair with Cheltenham is over, after someone removed him from his usual location between 8am and 8.30am.

And his fans are very upset. A post revealing the news on social media has been shared more than 300 times.

"We have lost Bony Tony and we are very distraught," said Regency Clinic manager Lucy Allwood.

"He's quite a star for us. People beep their car horns at him, children want a photo. He was just doing his thing yesterday waving to the public and then we noticed he was gone."

The much-loved skeleton's disappearance comes as children are off school on half-term.

For the past four years, they have enjoyed seeing him outside the clinic, which is a short walk from Berkhampstead School.

His disappearance is not the first drama he has been involved in, as last year he was dismembered and had his body parts strewn across the street and gardens.

One one occasion, the clinic held a selfie competition and asked his fans to take one with him to be in with a chance of winning a free massage.

"He has lost the odd limb in the past but remains a firm favourite with people," added Mrs Allwood.

"I think someone rather liked the look of him. He's probably worth several hundred pounds.

"Hopefully we will get him back. If we don't there will have to be a 'bony two' which we will have to chain down."

Where Bony Tony stood, a sign reads: 'Bony Tony missing! Please help us find him?', accompanied by a sad face.

Local residents have shared their dismay that someone could steal one of Cheltenham's funniest characters.

"No I cannot believe someone has taken him," Julie Rose wrote on Facebook .

"Please put him back where he belongs," said Lesley Crofts.

And Ange Barker said: "I’m going to have to keep it a secret from my daughter in the morning or I’ll ruin her birthday."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the clinic on 01242 222111.