Furious locals slam council for spending £6,000 on commemorative ‘pebble’ statue – which looks like a ‘BAKED POTATO wrapped in tin foil’

A Welsh council has spent thousands on a commemorative sculpture to mark the start of the scenic Wales Coastal Path walk – that locals have said looks like a baked potato wrapped in tin foil.

It was intended to resemble an enormous, glittery pebble, welcoming hikers to the Welsh coastal path.

But the lumpy art installation was immediately likened to a giant baked potato wrapped in tin foil by derisive locals.

Now their scorn has turned to anger after it emerged that £6,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent on the 3ft sculpture, which was this week nestled in a muddy puddle.

That is enough for more than 1,000 fully-loaded cooked spuds, or around 35,000 raw ones.

The Chepstow baked potato, as it has been dubbed, marks the tenth anniversary of the 870-mile path which skirts the stunning Welsh coastline.

Created by artist Michael Johnson, and decorated with the word ‘croeso’, meaning ‘Welcome’, it was unveiled last month by television presenter Iolo Williams and former National Poet of Wales Ifor ap Glyn.

Monmouthshire County Council celebrated the opening by posting videos on its social media channels, including one in which Williams notes the sculpture sits next to a sound box which tells visitors about the path.

The unveiling of the pebble was met with “oohs” from the crowd followed by modest applause. “Isn’t that beautiful,” Mr Williams said while unveiling the sculpture. “I now announce this pebble open.”

Passersby said the £6,000 sculpture looks like a potato wrapped in tin foil 

But passersby soon started pointing out the sculpture looks a bit a like a potato wrapped in tin foil. “I’m beans and cheese but the husband would prefer tuna mayo,” Emma Mee joked.

Kylie Young asked: ‘Why is there a giant baked potato on the river bank? What has that got to do with Chepstow or the coast path?’

In a reference to Wales’ controversial new default speed limit, Matt Stait added: ‘Took a 20mph trip today to the mediocre baked potato to see where the raise in my council tax is going. ‘I’m waiting for someone to smother it in baked beans.’

Lee Cook said: “We need more shops, not rocks or spuds wrapped in tin foil.” Wayne Cooper asked: “How much did this cost?”

And Wayne Cooper asked: ‘How much did this cost?’ 

The sculpture has the Welsh word ‘croeso’ written on it meaning ‘welcome’

The answer, it turns out, is £6,000 – with the artwork paid for and commissioned by Flintshire County Council, situated at the other end of the path.

In response, Conor Holohan, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will be disappointed that this project wasn’t foiled in its early stages.’

A spokeswoman for the Labour controlled Monmouthshire County Council said: “The funding for the Wales coast path improvements was part of the Welsh Government access improvement grant, for Monmouthshire County Council and Flintshire County Council.” 

“The artwork cost £6,000 and was commissioned and paid for by Flintshire County Council. Monmouthshire County Council paid £6,000 out of its access improvement grant to Flintshire County Council for this purpose.”

Artist Mr Johnson has been making artworks for public spaces since 1991, with his 12ft mussel sculpture in Musselburgh winning the Civic Award. 

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