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Two men have been arrested following the theft of an 8ft (2.4m) statue of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel from a quayside in Pembrokeshire.

Police believe the bronze statue, which cost ^30,000 when erected in July 1999, was taken from Neyland overnight on Sunday.

The arrested men have been released on bail and investigations are continuing, Dyfed-Powys Police said.

The statue has not yet been found.

Officers say lifting equipment must have been used to remove it intact from its plinth at Brunel Quay.

The statue by the late sculptor Robert Thomas, who also created the Aneurin Bevan statue in Cardiff city centre, was unveiled by the Prince of Wales, and was the work of the late Robert Thomas.

Metal thefts have become increasingly common this year as the price of most metals has risen.

Stolen statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in Neyland is replaced

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The original Brunel statue was stolen in August 2010

A statue of Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel will be unveiled in Pembrokeshire to replace one thought to have been stolen by metal thieves.

The original 8ft (2.4m) bronze sculpture went missing from its plinth in Neyland in August 2010. Now a replica of the statue - recast using the original mould used by sculptor Robert Thomas of Barry - is to be erected in its place.

It honours the man who brought the Great Western Railway to Pembrokeshire.

Residents of Neyland spent seven years raising ^30,000 towards the original statue. It was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in July 1999 - just six weeks after its sculptor died.

Two men were arrested after the statue was stolen but were released without charge.

The new bronze Brunel statue will be unveiled on Saturday at 14:00 BST in the Neyland Hotel Gardens, Brunel Quay. Swansea-based artist Ceri Thomas, the son of the sculptor, will be among those at the unveiling.

The cost has been covered by the insurance taken out on the previous statue by its owners Neyland Town Council.

Paul Miller, a Pembrokeshire county councillor for Neyland West, said it was important to replace the monument. "A lot of work went into raising the money for the original statue," he said. "For us to have it stolen and accept that it's gone would have been a disaster. It's really important for community spirit to have it replaced."

Additional security measures including bollards and CCTV have been put in place to thwart would-be thieves in future.

The Brunel statue was one of many items to have gone missing across Wales as rising commodity prices make metal objects in public places attractive to thieves. Litter bins, manhole covers, copper cables and memorial plaques have previously been targeted, as well as sculptures.

Earlier this month the theft of metal wire forced the closure of the landmark Puddlers Bridge in Merthyr Tydfil, which was opened just over a year ago.