It's set in stone
Dawson statue to go ahead
A statue of Les Dawson is to be erected on the seafront of his adopted Lancashire home.The 6ft tribute, showing the comic delivering his act, will be installed in a ‘Garden of Fame’ in Lytham St Annes by October.
It comes after a year of fundraising and campaigning by friends, fans and family – although the £60,000 project is still £20,000 short.
As the design and location was revealed yesterday, Les’s widow, Tracy, pictured, said: ‘I think the location is really quite amazing.
‘For me it's just fantastic that the project is going to happen and on a personal level the choice of location is also lovely.
‘It's quite near where Les and I met when I used to work at the St Ives hotel.’
Simon Renwick, from Fylde council, said: ‘It is an ideal spot right in the tourism heart of St. Visitors will easily be able to see the statue and have photographs taken with it.’
In October , the comic's children Julie, Stuart and Pamela, spoke out against the plans, saying their ‘private’ father would have preferred money raised in his name to be given to deserving local groups, rather than to commemorate him.
Dawson died of a heart attack on June 11, 1993, aged 62.
Published: 18 Dec 2007
