Row over Tommy Cooper statues

Rival bids to erect a statue to Tommy Cooper have erupted into a belligerent war of words.

Fans in Cooper's birthplace of Caerphilly have waged a year-long campaign to honour him and are now furious that the west London suburb of Chiswick, where Cooper spent his later years, is pursuing the same idea.

Councillor Angus Donaldson claims to have the support of Prince Charles, given when he was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace.

And his campaign also has the backing of Cooper's daughter Vicky who, ironically, still lives in Chiswick.

In a letter to the Welsh-based Tommy Cooper Society, Vicky wrote: "It is a wonderful idea and our Tommy was a real Welshman from the tips of his black, curly hair to the bottom of his size 13 shoes.

"He would have loved the idea of a statue bringing a smile to people's faces in Wales."

But Chiswick councillor Adrian Lee said any monument deserved to be in the place he chose to live.

He told the Brentford, Chiswick and Isleworth Times: "Nobody thought of Tommy as Welsh at all. He was a regular in all the local pubs around here. He was a local Chiswick celebrity.

"I think it's pathetic if they are getting churlish about it, but if it comes down to who has the greater claim, we do."

But Donaldson hit back saying: "You tell everybody Wales got there first. We can't have two statues around the country. Tommy was a real Welshman and his statue should be where he was born.''

Donaldson is now trying to raise £50,000 for a 9ft statue to Cooper, who left Caerphilly in 1926 - when he was just four years old. A site and a sculptor have already been selected.

Tommy's cousin Betty Jones, 70, who is on Caerphilly's campaign committee, told the Western Mail: "We need to raise awareness about Tommy.

"A lot of older people know about him but we need younger people to know more, as he could be an inspiration to them in terms of encouraging new acts."

Published: 10 Jun 2003