Celebrity town cat immortalised as bronze statue

Tilly's Gosport Adventures Facebook page amassed almost 4,000 followers in less than a year

A memorial for a well-loved town cat has been commissioned following her death.

Tilly, a Bengal cat regularly spotted around Gosport - including at the local police station, will be commemorated with a bronze statue.

The two-year-old's wanderings, documented on Tilly's Gosport Adventures Facebook page, quickly gained her social media fame.

Sand sculptor Paul Hoggard has taken on the project having previously created the feline out of sand.

She was regularly spotted at the police station and made an honorary police cat

Tilly's owner, Caroline Oakes, said she had received "overwhelming" support from those who knew her pet after she died last month when she was hit by a car.

She explained that Tilly's "curious" and "mischievous" character brought the Gosport community together.

A online crowdfunding appeal has raised more than £3,000 which was used to commission the statue, with any leftover cash donated to local cat charities.

"Tilly was a legend, Gosport loved her," Jo Jones, who donated to the appeal, said.

Thomas Wood added: "I met her outside the bakery in the flower beds and she had a bit of my cookie."

The final bronze statue is expected to be completed in eight to 12 weeks.

Mr Hoggard and his wife, Remy, are in the process of making a clay sculpture which will then be used to make a latex and plaster mould.

Bronze will then be poured into the mould to form the final statue.

It is still undecided as to where the statue's home will be, although many hope it will be in a public place for the community to appreciate and remember Tilly.

"She was one-of-a-kind really," said Ms Oakes.