Banksy's brief makeover of King's Lynn statue will remain just a memory

It was an act which set Lynn buzzing - but it seems Banksy's influence on a town statue will not see the light of day again.

The secretive artist and activist chose the monument to Frederick Savage in London Road to make his mark on the town last summer.

A tongue and ice cream were added to it on August 4.

These were removed on the same day by West Norfolk Council, which confirmed a few days later that it only had the ice cream cone in its possession.

Now, as the first anniversary of the statue makeover approaches, the council has confirmed that it's unlikely the item will be displayed again in any setting.

A spokesperson said: "We still have it but have no current plans to do anything with it unless Banksy’s representatives, Pest Control, authorise us to do so – and they have already told us they won’t."

When the items were removed last summer, it was not known that they had been added by Banksy - a fact confirmed by the world-renowned artist in a video nine days later.

At the time, he confirmed he had also left other examples of his signature work at Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Cromer and Gorleston as part of his "Great British Spraycation".

The Lynn News has had no reply to a request for comment from Pest Control.

Mr Savage, who lived from 1828 to 1897, was an inventor of steam-powered fairground machinery and was Lynn mayor from 1889 to 1890.

The London Road monument to him was unveiled five years before his death.