Cornwall's answer to the Angel of the North is compared to a £90k kebab by locals

• Watch Charlotte Gay's report

A brand new ceramic statue, thought to be the tallest in the world, has been greeted with an unwelcome reception in Cornwall.

The striking abstract installation is made from five large circles of St Austell's China clay topped with outstretched arms and decorated in flashes of bright colour.

But locals on social media have described it as an "atrocity" and made references to it "looking like a kebab" but those who have come to see it in person say "it's made them feel differently" towards the sculpture.

Standing at 11.5 meters tall, the Earth Goddess is bigger than two double decker buses on top of each other, which is believed to make it the tallest ceramic sculpture in the world.

The creation is intended as a celebration of St Austell’s connection to China clay but the £90,000 cost has frustrated people in the town who say the the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

"She's a spiritual being" says artist Sandy Brown, "representing our love of the earth and our love of clay".

"It’s my hope that she celebrates the town’s unique history and represents our collective and eternal roots with the environment, nature, and mother earth.”

Alex Murdin, the project curator for the Whitegold ceramic trial says there's no doubt "it's a different idea."

"No public art is without controversy and this has had its share. But I think people will grow to love it as a as a great symbol of the future of St Austell."

Steve Double, the Conservative MP for St Austell and Newquay, admits he himself is not a fan. In a social media post he said 90% of the comments he had seen and heard had been negative.

“I accept art is subjective,” he said on Wednesday (22 June). “There will be those who love it, there will be those who hate it. That is the nature of art. But this is not what I have chosen and I’m not a fan of it.”