It "wasn't the most attractive one", but Twickenham residents remember the bronze statue that stood outside the town's railway station with affection.

Many eagle-eyed locals and art lovers spotted that it went missing amid the multi-million pound revamp of Twickenham Railway Station.

Cathy Doherty said: "Where has our bronze statue gone and when is it going to be put back?"

Lee Neale said: "What happened to the old bronze statue?"

Brigitte Pickersgill said: "It wasn't the most attractive one. However, I always saw it there, I suppose it was erected for a good reason, was part of the station for as long as I remember and should be there instead of this nondescript pillar thing."

The ten-foot statue was called Restless Kingdom and is the work of Guy Rushworth Harden, who was commissioned in 2003 by Richmond Council.

Speaking at the time, Cllr Mark Kreling disagreed with its latter day detractors: "The sculpture is a truly eye-catching feature. Bringing art into public spaces is part of a drive to enhance the street scene."

Mr Harden told the Richmond and Twickenham Times his statue formed part of a series on the theme of a 'recurring equation': ''It is an endless cycle. Our world is mapped by natural events, a mark of that is in the sculpture, an ecological statement, the way we need to balance our lives, the consumption and the giving back.''

The statue was wrought using cast iron, granite and sandstone. At its widest point it measures four feet around and divides as it rises.

"Some people have said it is like a tongue of fire, or the growth of seed, bursting from the pod," the artist continued. "Others see the Thames with Eel Pie Island, some have even seen sexual imagery, it's all natural, all interlinked.

''The round base is the planet, the globe or a seed pod, a bomb even, looking at the negative side of life, representing that containment of energy''.

Now Twickenham Nub News can reveal that Restless Kingdom is returning to its rightful place.

A spokesperson for Twickenham Gateway, the name of the station redevelopment project, said the statue will be "returned to a location near to the entrance of the station in the upper plaza, in the coming months".

"The statue was in a poor state prior to the project starting, as such it is fragile and will be reinstalled as one of the last bits of works to ensure its safety," he said.

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