Controversial statue will be melted down after years of ridicule

Since its unveiling 15 years ago it has been subject to all manner of ridicule and vandalism.

Now, the much-maligned sculpture of a fisherman in the Galloway town of Annan looks likely to be melted down in a move that has angered its creator.

The £40,000 monument, built to honour the men who waded into the Solway Firth to catch fish with handheld nets, was erected in 2009.

Commissioned by Tesco to mark the opening of its new supermarket it depicts a haaf netter - an ancient type of salmon and sea trout fisherman who were once common in the Solway Firth.

It now it faces being melted down after Annan Community Council voted for it to be removed and scrapped.

But Paul Cowan, who created the bronze and stainless steel work, told The Sunday Times: ‘The statue does not belong to the community council, it belongs to the people of the town.

‘It is not theirs and they can’t decide what to do with it. They claim to be acting in the best interests of the town, but all they care about is trying to get MBE medals.

'They are a bunch of old farts and jumped-up busybodies... and you can quote me on that.’

It was originally placed at a roundabout in the town but, after being unveiled in 2009, instantly became the focus of ridicule.

The 61-year-old sculptor said: ‘All the jokes go back to the night before it was unveiled.

‘We wrapped it up and the sculpted salmon stuck out around the figure’s waist height.

‘People were sniggering and suggesting that he appeared to be aroused.

‘I didn’t mind that and thought it was funny.’

Demands to remove the sculpture soon mounted. Then, in 2018, it was decapitated.

Pranksters soon took advantage of the headless statue. It sported numerous heads, including a disturbing-rubber parrot mask and a traffic cone.

The decapitation led to a police investigation, but it was soon dropped.

In 2020 Annan Community Council took ownership of the headless haaf netter - but this did not end the trouble for the artwork.

It was removed from its original location to a new one overlooking to the Solway Firth, with the community council reportedly paid £350 to move it.

But vandals continued to target the artwork, and earlier this year removed the metal net and attached salmon from the headless fisherman.

The community council told the newspaper scrapping it was a ‘unanimous decision’, and added: ‘It’s sad that it’s come to this. Funds will be used for the benefit of the community. Tesco didn’t want it and the council didn’t want it.’

Mr Cowan said: ‘The whole point of art is for it to provoke strong opinions - whether people love it or hate it.'