More research call on vinyl coating for Shrewsbury's Lord Hill statue

Tim Milsom, chairman of the Friends of Lord Hill's Column group, said more investigation is required on whether the idea, which would cost about £25,000, would be feasible.

He said the Friends had concerns the work may result in further long-term damage to the statue, which is currently encased in scaffolding.

Representatives from specialists Orbit have already given a demonstration to English Heritage on how the dark grey liquid vinyl could be used to provide the statue with a protective coating that would last for up to 20 years.

The idea had been floated as a way of "buying time" while funds a raised for a replacement statue.

Mr Milsom said: "It is a real good idea and really interesting but it has linseed oil which may interfere with the actual statue.

"The problem is the oil may go into the statue and it may be difficult to restore the statue after that point."

He said that he seen a demonstration of the technique, but added more research needs to be done to work out whether it would be feasible to attempt it on the statue. Our view at the moment is not to do it."

At a public meeting last week, Colin Richards, historic environment manager for Shropshire Council, said the idea was being looked at as a way of stopping further pieces of debris falling off the crumbling statue.

But he added English Heritage had raised concerns about the potential degradation of the statue underneath the outer coating.

English Heritage want the statue, which is almost 200 years old, to be "reinstated" at an alternative location if it is to be removed from Abbey Foregate.

It is hoped funds can be raised to install a replica on the Column within the next two years, at a potential cost of about £350,000.