Steve's jumbo challenge

A man who aims to restore a unique piece of Wolverhampton's heritage is appealing for photographs to help him make an accurate reproduction.

The iconic elephant statue, which greeted drinkers at the Elephant and Castle pub until it was demolished almost seven years ago, was thought lost forever.

But after an appeal in the Express & Star by former pub regulars to discover what had happened to the statue the man who found it dumped near a scrapyard in Bilston came forward.

And now Winston Aplin, from Bushbury, has asked his cousin to bring the concrete statue back to its former glory.

The battered old blue and red statue was given a home in 41-year-old Mr Aplin's garden, in Beechwood Avenue, after he discovered it in 2001.

A storm of protest met the demolition of the pub, which stood on the corner of Cannock Road and Stafford Street.

Steve Swift, of Coven Body Repairs, is taking on the jumbo challenge but is appealing for help from the public to ensure the job is done to the highest standard.

He said: "I want to ask anyone who has a photograph of the elephant to let me see it so I can reproduce it faithfully.

"If I could see a picture of the elephant as it was originally, that would make my job much easier.

"As it stands, I would just be guessing. At the moment, it has three and a half legs. The trunk and tusks are missing, plus the castle that was on its back."

He said the biggest part of the job would be drilling into the concrete and inserting steel rods to reinforce it.

The legs and other missing parts will be reconstructed and sculpting work undertaken.

It is a bit different to the kind of restoration work usually carried out by the 60-year-old, who works mainly with classic cars and antique furniture.

He said: "These jobs are one-off. I don't often work with concrete, its usually aluminium or wood but it's not a problem."

Mr Swift is available on 01902 397200.