An artist has adorned a seaside statue of Queen Victoria with a giant Walnut Whip chocolate.
Known as DLR, the artist placed the chocolate crown – actually made of polystyrene – on the bronze statue on Saturday.
The statue, erected 124 years ago in Warrior Square in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, has previously seen traffic cones placed on top, with the Walnut Whip appearing before in 2013.
DLR said of the prank: ‘I was given two Walnut Whips by a friend who does scenery for TV and film 14 years ago.
‘They were going to go in a skip so he turned up to my house and asked if I wanted them, so I said yeah.
‘We actually did the same thing 13 years ago, I’ve been thinking of doing it again for ages, and I just wanted to get rid of it actually.
‘She usually has traffic cones on her head so I thought we could go one step further and put a walnut whip on her head.
‘It was such a lovely day yesterday watching people’s reactions, I stood around watching and people were just smiling and taking photos.’
A statue of Queen Victoria was topped with a giant Walnut Whip in St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, over the bank holiday weekend
The artist responsible, known as DLR, said it had been ‘such a lovely day’ spent ‘watching people’s reactions’ to the prank
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Is it harmless fun or disrespectful to use public statues for quirky pranks like this?
Local photographer JJ Waller said: ‘What a simple fun idea that has caused lots of laughter from locals and tourists over the bank holiday weekend.
‘The town is full of surprises and a walnut whip on the statue fits very well with the quirky and inspirational goings on I have been photographing for the past 18 years.
‘Queen Victoria herself might well have been very amused at this original escapade that goes beyond the proverbial traffic cone hat she has worn many times before.’
