Wallace and Gromit statue planned for Nick Park's home town of Preston

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An impression of the Wallace and Gromit statue planned for Preston
How the Wallace and Gromit statue will look.

A Wallace and Gromit statue will be unveiled in the home town of Oscar-winning animator Nick Park who created the characters.The animated duo will be depicted as they appeared in The Wrong Trousers and the life-sized pair will be seen next to a bronze bench.The bench will be installed outside Preston Markets later this year, with visitors likely keen to have their picture taken with the famous characters.

Preston born Animator Nick Park Credit: Press Association

The statue will be designed by Park and the team at Bristol-based Aardman in consultation with local sculptor Peter Hodgkinson, the bench is currently being produced at the Castle Fine Arts Foundry in Wales.

Wallace and Gromit Credit: Aardman Animations

A planning application for the bench has been submitted to Preston City Council and it is hoped the bench could be installed in August this year.The bench is being funded from a pot of £1 million in initial funding Preston received from the Government's national towns fund initiative for the Pop-Up projects which aim to encourage visitors back into the city after the pandemic.