Corgi statues in honour of late Queen Elizabeth II lose a Norfolk council thousands

A council has lost thousands of pounds of taxpayers money after selling their controversial corgi statues. 

Seven wicker corgis were made at a cost of £3,000 each to celebrate the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year. 

The council said the statues were never meant to be a "commercial exercise", but at the time of being launched some councillors questioned the spending of more than £20,000, a figure that has increased after the corgis were repaired. 

Broadland District Council, in Norfolk, has since auctioned four of the pieces for charity, making around £500 each. 

Two were kept by the council and the remaining one has been given to the King and will be displayed at Sandringham.

Liberal Democrat councillor Caroline Karimi-Ghovanlou praised giving the proceeds to Nelson's Journey, a bereavement charity, but questioned the cost of refurbishing the corgis before sale.

Trudy Mancini-Boyle, the deputy leader of the council, admitted the repair cost £1,080 for all seven, with a total of £2,140 raised by the auction.

She said: "The corgis were commissioned as a tribute to our late Queen. They were never meant to be seen as a commercial exercise.

"I am personally very proud that Broadland District Council took the opportunity to recognise a once in a lifetime event."

She said the Corgis were placed across the district for people to enjoy and they "did that in their droves" which helped local businesses.

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