THE owner of the British Ironworks Centre in Oswestry has offered one of his works to potentially replace the 'Clive of India' statue in Shrewsbury.

Calls for the statue to be removed have been amplified since the forced removal of a monument to Edward Colston, a trader in the 19th century slave trade, in Bristol last week.

The statue of Robert Clive – known as Clive of India – is being deemed inappropriate by campaigners because of his record in India, and they believe that he exploited the people for his own wealth and gain.

Clive Knowles, from the Ironworks, says that while his own symbol of peace – the Knife Angel – is unavailable, he would be willing to donate others.

He said: “We would always wish to support Shrewsbury, and Shropshire as a whole, in undertaking any changes that the people of Shrewsbury wish to make.

"As the Angel is not available, we have offered our sculpture of Charles Darwin, which was created by local artist Luke Kite or our latest creation, the ‘Shropshire Woolly Mammoth’ sculpture.

"Both sculptures positively represent Shropshire’s history and have been offered at no cost to Shrewsbury. It is obviously a great honour to have our work featured in Shrewsbury.

"However, we want to ensure that the public are thoroughly are thoroughly consulted and that their communal wishes are met before any changes are made.

"We would also be more than willing to work alongside Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury Town Council, among others, to develop an entirely new sculpture – perhaps something to celebrate our NHS and frontline workers, who are unarguably today’s heroes.”

A spokesperson from the Ironworks added: “Unfortunately, it is not possible to offer Shrewsbury the Angel as it is still committed to being used on a National Anti-Violence Tour of the UK, which raises and ignites educational programmes and events right across the UK."