Blog: Now, I’m no scientist (shocking revelation, I know, says David Burrows), but this is what I understand:

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is based around “natural selection.”

Natural selection suggests that when a species develops an advantageous mutation (such as the ability to fly), its offspring inherits that advantage and passes it on to their offspring and so forth. The inferior members of the same species, which doesn’t develop the ability, gradually dies out, leaving only the superior members to survive.

If Mr Darwin could see the debacle that surrounds the Shrewsbury artwork built in his honour, he’d have ripped up On The Origin of Species while it was still in notebook form, got back on the Beagle and become a potter like his granddad.

Quantum Leap survives to this day. And yet, more evidence has emerged to suggest, if natural selection had its way, it should have been left to die. Survival of the fittest? Hardly.

We all know that as Quantum Leap was born with a deformed spine which, as it grew closer to adulthood, became more obvious. Or, to put it another way, as they were building the wretched thing they realised the ribs didn’t line up properly and work had to be carried out to correct the problem.

Months of wrangling over whose fault it was followed and now we know.

An independent adjudicator has ruled that the former Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council was to blame because the design specs were inadequate (apparently, just asking for something that looks a bit like a cross between a Slinky and a melted stepladder does not constitute a proper planning brief).

The statue was supposed to cost £483,000. The extra work and subsequent legal fees have added another £525,000 to the bill – more than doubling it to a grand total of over million quid. Money well spent? Well, you can pick up a decent climbing frame from justoutdoortoys.co.uk for about three grand, so you be the judge.

Now of course, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council died out (a victim of natural selection, perhaps?) so who foots the bill? Yup, Shropshire Council. The money will come from its capital budget, and means some other projects may be delayed.

So, Mr Darwin, I put it to you there is NO natural selection. If there was, this pathetic creature with its broken ribs would not have been allowed to survive.