Iconic Floozie in the Jacuzzi back home in Birmingham

Birmingham's famous 'Floozie in the Jacuzzi' has been lowered back into her bathtub in Victoria Square.

The statue sat as the square's centrepiece for almost 28 years until she was removed in October 2021 to be cleaned and restored.

Engineers have now carried out the repairs and the Floozie in the Jacuzzi is ready to once again become a talking point for visitors and residents in the city.

Birmingham City Council hopes the water feature will be running again in time for the Commonwealth Games this summer.

Officially titled The Goddess to The River, the Floozie in the Jacuzzi is a work from artist Dhruva Mistry.

She was created in April 1993 at the cost of £3.5 million.

In 2010, £300,000 was spent fixing leaking pipes and installing new coloured lighting, but three years later the landmark was turned off again.

Several attempts were made over the years to repair the site before the statue was turned into a giant flower bed in July, 2015.

The sculpture weighs 1.75 tonnes and is said to represent 'the life force'.

When it was operational 'The River', or fountain, part of the statue flowed at 3,000 gallons per minute and it was one of the largest in Europe.

People in Birmingham gave their thoughts on the return of the 'Floozie in the Jacuzzi'

In Birmingham people seemed pleased to see the iconic statue return.

"I like it as a sculpture, and I think it identifies people with Birmingham, especially in front of the town hall," said one.

"It adds interest," said another. "If it was a plain square there'd be no interest."

"She's been greatly missed!" agreed another man. "It's really great to have her back and I can't wait to see her in her full working glory."

The two smaller figures sitting at the bottom of the fountain represent 'youth'.

The quotation carved into the stone around the lip of the main pool is taken from Burnt Norton, one of the Four Quartets by TS Eliot.

It reads: "And the pool was filled with water out of sunlight and the lotos rose, quietly, quietly. The surface glittered out of heart of light and they were behind us, reflected in the pool. Then a cloud passed, and the pool was empty."