Campaign to stop cockerel statue

PLANS to put a giant blue statue of a French cockerel on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square in London - facing Nelson's Column - have prompted a campaign by British heritage fans.

The 4.7 metre-high statue by Katharina Fritsch has been described by some as "totally inappropriate" - not just on aesthetic grounds, but because Nelson's greatest victory was against the French in 1805.

The square's fourth plinth has hosted temporary artwork since 1999. Fritsch admitted it was "mischievous" to install the giant fibreglass cockerel "within a square that celebrates an historical victory over the French".

Campaigners have until next Tuesday to protest ahead of a Westminster city council planning meeting. If approved, the cockerel would be on the plinth from mid-July until February 2015.