Keith Vaz

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By Greig WatsonBBC News

Prejudice has hampered attempts to build a statue to The Elephant Man, his biographer has claimed.

Jo Vigor-Mungovin, who traced Joseph Merrick 's grave, has been trying to raise the estimated £100,000 cost for a monument in his native Leicester.

But progress has been slow with critics saying the idea was a " freak show" and The City was already " ugly enough".

Mrs Vigor-Mungovin said: " There is a fear of what The Statue would be Like - But he was an inspirational figure".

But the have been backed by artist and disability campaigner Alison Lapper Who Said anyone offended should " get Over It ".

Merrick was born in Leicester in 1862 But his physical disabilities forced him into a workhouse.

In 1884 he joined a travelling exhibition and eventually found His Way to The Royal London Hospital , where he died in 1890.

While Merrick's skeleton was kept at The Hospital , his soft tissue was buried in a common plot But its location was forgotten.

Shortly after, Mrs Vigor-Mungovin began looking into erecting a statue to Merrick.

" I wasn't expecting it to be controversial, " She Said . " But I've come across the same reaction over and over.

" When I approach funding sources or venues, people seem interested at first But when they hear it will be a statue of The Elephant Man, they seem a bit shocked.

" They either say 'you can't do that' or stop answering emails or The Phone .

" I'm a descendant of Tom Norman , the showman who worked with Joseph, and I've even been accused of being an accomplice to a 'Vampire showman's crime'. "

Joseph Merrick

A letter printed in the Leicester Mercury newspaper said: " He was a freak of Nature . . our poor City has become ugly enough without a statue of this poor man being displayed. "

The Appeal 's Facebook page has been challenged, with one person questioning whether Merrick deserves a statue, saying: " He had a rare condition and apparently that makes him somewhat amazing. "

Other comments from people called it a " freak show" or said " let's have another [statue] of a bear dancing on hot coals" and " disfigurement should not be celebrated".

Despite only raising a fraction of the cost, Mrs Vigor-Mungovin said she was still trying to realise her dream, with fundraising events, new designs for The Statue and a possible exhibition of items related to Merrick.

" I think the maquette [miniature design] will put a lot of people's mind At Rest , " She Said .

" And I Am hoping to get items from The Royal London Hospital for The Exhibition , maybe even the full-size copy of his skeleton. "

It is not the only statue of a notable Leicester figure being planned for The City - and others appear to have been more warmly received.

Plans for a statue to commemorate murdered playwright Joe Orton have from the acting world and in November.

And last April then-MP Keith Vaz said a statue should be built, who died in a helicopter crash outside The Club 's stadium in 2018. The design Mr Vaz suggested was of two elephants, with The Animal being a symbol of Good Luck in Thailand.

Artist Ms Lapper, who was born without arms and with shortened legs, became famous when a statue of her, naked and pregnant, was displayed on Trafalgar Square 's fourth plinth.

" Attitudes have changed since then, But not hugely, " She Said . " I remember sitting below my statue and seeing children being hurried away, people muttering it was 'inappropriate' But it started a conversation which is Still Going on today.

" I can't imagine how hard it must have been being disabled in the Victorian Era , it was hard enough for me being born in the 60s.

" It would be great to see a statue of Joseph, especially if it highlights his courage getting himself out of the workhouse.

" People still feel uncomfortable around disability But if that's All That stopping this, then I say 'Tough, get Over It '. "

Mrs Vigor-Mungovin said: " People's ideas of him are dominated by The Film from the 1980s, they want to feel sorry for him.

" But The Real story is he had quite a good life, all things considered.

" He took control, he used his condition to his advantage, it's a powerful story. "

history, alison lapper, leicester, sculptures

Source of news: bbc.com