Statue of Wallace and Gromit villain unveiled

Oscar-winner Nick Park unveiled the statue at the opening of a leisure complex in Preston

A bronze statue of animated penguin villain Feathers McGraw has been unveiled close to his arch enemies Wallace and Gromit.

Crowds gathered in Preston, Lancashire, to watch Nick Park, the creator of the popular film franchise, reveal the 4ft (1.2m) sculpture in his home city and then greet the new artwork with cheers - and then playful boos.

Laughter was heard as one onlooker shouted "arrest that chicken".

Feathers McGraw appeared in the Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers and returned in a starring role in Vengeance Most Fowl, which premiered on BBC One on Christmas Day.

Creator Park unveiled the statue as part of a ceremony to mark the opening of a new £45m cinema and leisure complex.

Called Animate, it is located at Preston's former indoor market area in the Harris Quarter and includes an eight-screen cinema, bowling alley and street food hub, and a cocktail bar.

Park and the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Philip Crowe, were in attendance on Thursday evening.

Long thought to be a chicken, Feathers was exposed as a penguin when Wallace and Gromit foiled his plan to rob a museum of a precious diamond.

Statues of Wallace and Gromit stand not far away in Preston

The silent criminal mastermind character stands outside Animate but ominously close to the existing Wallace and Gromit bronze statue bench at nearby Preston Markets, which was also opened by Park in September 2021.

Park said: "As a proud Prestonian, I couldn't be more 'egg-cited' to see our infamous Feathers McGraw joining Wallace and Gromit in my hometown.

"I'm not sure how happy Wallace and Gromit will be though to have their arch nemesis clutching the limelight and a little too close for comfort."

Part of the funding for the complex came from the £20m Preston's Town Fund, which has been spent on three projects: Animate, the Harris Museum and the Grade II-listed Amounderness House, the former court building in the city centre.