Victoria Wood statue will 'have to be removed' after taxi smashes into it

The car did not loo to be in a good state (Picture: X/MrAntHayes)

A statue of the late comedian Victoria Wood has been toppled after a taxi crashed into it overnight.

The statue, situated in Church Gardens, Bury, was erected in 2019 to commemorate the Prestwich-born actress and comedian.

Pictures show a silver people carrier taxi on top of the sturdy statue, designed by Graham Ibbeson, which depicts the late star with a microphone in her hand.

The bonnet of the car looked to be very smashed up, as the statue fell to the ground along with a huge slab of concrete.

In dramatic images of the crash, the car can be seen pointing almost vertically in the air from the impact.

The area is now cordoned off with orange fencing and the car has since been removed from the site.

The incident happened on the evening of June 3 and the driver went to hospital with non life threatening injuries, according to authorities.

A statue of Victoria Wood was crashed into and toppled last night (Picture: PA)

The comedian died in 2016 aged 62 (Picture: Donald Maclellan/Getty Images)

Police said no one was seriously injured in the collision (Picture: MEN Media)

Bury Police told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were called shortly after 10pm last night. No arrests were made. The driver went to hospital with injuries, which are not believed to be serious or life changing.’

A Bury Council spokesman also told us: ‘Victoria Wood was a national treasure, and we are proud to call her one of our own.

‘The statue was crowd-funded by Victoria’s brother Chris and from her estate, and maintained by the council. It was made by the acclaimed sculptor Graham Ibbeson and unveiled in 2019. It has been a source of great pleasure to many visitors to Bury, and it’s a huge disappointment that this incident has happened and the statue will have to be removed.

‘We are currently making arrangements for the statue to be removed and kept in a safe place while we assess the extent of the damage to it. We will be in close contact with Victoria’s family in deciding what to do next.

‘We understand that the police are investigating the incident, and that the driver went to hospital with non-serious injuries. The vehicle is a taxi, licensed in Wolverhampton.”

Victoria’s brother Chris Foote-Wood added: ‘It’s a terrible shock to be told that your sister has been knocked down by a taxi, but Victoria always was tough and her bronze statue even more so. She’ll be back good as new very soon.’

Woods died in April 2016 aged 62 after being diagnosed with cancer four years before.

The comedy actress – who was the recipient of six British Comedy Awards – only told a few friends and family about the illness before her death.

The statue was unveiled in 2019 (Picture: PA)

In 2012 she quit directing BBC show Loving Miss Hatto for a year so she could undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy, as well as surgeries on a malignant lymph node.

After stepping back from working on the BBC programme, Victoria chose to go to hospital appointments on her own, and she is said to have told a TV writer that she ‘can’t be bothered to put a good face on it and be jolly’.

Grace, Victoria’s daughter, revealed in a 2020 book titled Let’s Do It all about her mother’s life: ‘She shared what she had to but, given the choice, I think she’d have shared none of it.’

According to the book, Victoria took Grace to the Comedy Awards and told her: ‘I don’t want rumours spreading that I’m at death’s door.’

At the time of her death, The Dinnerladies actor’s publicist stated: ‘Victoria Wood has sadly passed away, after a short but brave battle with cancer.

‘The multi Bafta award-winning writer, director, actor and comedian died peacefully at her north London home with family this morning. She was 62.’

Victoria got her first showbiz break on New Faces in 1974.

A four-time Bafta winner, she got her first win in 1986 for Victoria Wood As Seen on TV.

She also won two Baftas for acting and writing for her drama Housewife, 49, an adaptation of the diaries of Nella Last.

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