artist Mike Nance may have lost a battle to erect a mermaid statue in his home town, but now he is offering another creation to Bovey Tracey.

He claims to have a lot of public support for his Princess Darshana statue, and reckons it will bring national publicity to the moorland town.

The character is from his children's book, Freeing Samakan, which is partly set in Bovey.

Mr nance, from Teignmouth, campaigned for 18 years to be allowed to site the 13ft concrete mermaid at the Point, the entrance to the Teign estuary, but the scheme was finally scuppered by a planning inspector who dismissed his appeal against refusal of planning consent by Teignbridge Council.

Although bitterly disappointed and maintaining there was huge public support for the project, Mr Nance is hoping for a better reception at Bovey.<