Stoke-on-Trent City Council has apologised after the historic Josiah Wedgwood sculpture on Festival Way was destroyed this week, saying "a significant operational error has occurred".

When the image of the collapsed statue was posted on Twitter yesterday (1 February), residents voiced their outrage and called upon the council to act.

Fred Hughes wrote, "This hurts terribly. As one of the guests honoured to unveil this sculptural work of art, I am deeply saddened to see this."

Another Stoke resident added "An absolutely heartbreaking sight. It has to be rebuilt/restored as a priority and not lost".

A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesman said: "A significant operational error has occurred in the removal of this statue, and we apologise unreservedly for that. We have taken this matter up directly with contractors to understand what has gone wrong.

"The city's cultural heritage is deeply important, and we are urgently looking into this matter with our contractors. The bricks and base of the sculpture will be sensitively removed while we understand what clearly went wrong here."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Abi Brown said: "I am devastated that this error has occurred. Culture is at the fabric of our city and plays a hugely significant role in the story of Stoke-on-Trent.

"I have instructed the director of the service to personally oversee immediate work to protect the sculpture and investigate how this has happened."

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