Babycham deer revamped to celebrate its Somerset homecoming

From the 9 December, guests will have two days to see the newly restored deer up close in the courtyard of Kilver Court

A "well-loved" deer statue has been revamped to celebrate the return of the Babycham brand to the Showering family.

The Somerset-based Brothers Drinks Co Ltd said refurbishing the deer was top of the priority list when it bought back the brand from Accolade Wines.

The 15ft (4.6m) statue will adorn the roof of the Showerings Cider Mill the firm owns.

The figure can be seen in the courtyard of Kilver Court and will be returned to its place on the roof in the new year.

Co-owner Jonathan Showering said the deer was "a symbol of the brand and has been a local landmark for 60 years".

Babycham was first launched in the UK by Francis Showering in 1953.

The family brand became a public company in the 1960s and subsequently changed hands a few times before the most recent owners Accolade Wines took it over in the 1990s.

The 15ft (4.6m) statue has been given a new lease of life with PPG paint, repainted by local firm Sprayline Ltd

The Showering family started British cider company Brothers Drinks Co Ltd in Shepton Mallet in 1992 and owns the Showerings Cider Mill, which is the second largest cider plant in the UK.

Mr Showering said the deer was an important landmark in the area:

"It's inextricably linked. For the whole of myself and my brothers' lives it's been sitting as an iconic statue in Shepton and we're very pleased to have it back in the family ownership.

"Because we're from Shepton it was always something we looked out for and I think that's true of anyone driving through [the market town]."

He said he had lost count of the number of people who mentioned they were driving on their holiday and used the deer as their halfway point.

His brother Matthew Showering said the removal of the Babycham statue had been "a hot topic over the past couple of weeks, but we are proud to finally reveal that as a business we have acquired the Babycham brand and it is back where it belongs".

"It was high time our well-loved statue, which takes pride of place in Shepton Mallet, received some love, so we were delighted to do so as part of the celebrations."