THE BOROUGH council is working with the artist behind the town’s iconic Millennium Man, to make sure he is as ‘sturdy’ as possible before being returned to his rightful home.

In October 2021, the statue was again toppled in what the Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) leader described as an act act of "mindless vandalism".

The iconic statue, situated next to the roundabout at the junction of Salisbury Road and Weyhill Road, was broken at the ankles from his usual spot overseeing the busy intersection.

Test Valley Borough Council officers recovered the £14,000 statue, making the site safe.

Cllr Phil North pledged to return the Millennium Man to his "rightful place" and asked officers to investigate ways he could be better secured.

READ MORE: Andover's Millennium Man is toppled again by suspected vandals

At a meeting of Andover Town Council last week, Cllr Zilliah Brookes, who represents Andover Millway ward on TVBC, said that the authority was still working to make sure that the structure is as sturdy as possible.

“I have been having a lot of emails about the Millennium Man and when it’s going to come back. We are still working with the artist to make him more sturdy,” she said.

“He is as solid as a rock - I don’t know how these young boys managed to push him over! But we are thinking of putting a steel rod all the way through him.”

This is not the first time the statue has been vacant from his post because of damage - vandalism in October 2018 and further damage in February 2019 saw the roundabout without its onlooker for three months.

The statue first disappeared in 2007, when vandals levered him off the plinth.

Created by artist Claire Norrington, the statue was first erected in the year 2000 to mark the new millennium. In recent years, the Millennium Man has become a much-loved part of the town, and a piece of public art.

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