Preston plans Wallace and Gromit statue

'The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'

A statue of Wallace and Gromit is to be erected in Preston, Lancashire, the home city of the plasticine duo's creator Nick Park.

Preston City Council has launched a campaign to raise £100,000 to fund the bronze statue, which is to be designed by Park.

Park said: "This is a really exciting project and I'm delighted to be working on the designs. As a Prestonian myself it would be a wonderful honour to have a statue to the characters in my home city."

Wallace and Gromit first appeared in the BAFTA-winning short film A Grand Day Out in 1989. Park won the Best Animated Feature gong at the 2005 Academy Awards for Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the plasticine pair's feature film debut.