A statue to commemorate Canterbury's famous playwright - Christopher Marlowe - is planned to be installed in the city centre.

Earmarked to stand beside the St George's Clocktower at the top end of the high street, the larger-than-life sculpture will be made of woven strips of recycled iron.

Those behind the statue proposals hope the city can celebrate its dramatist in the way in which Stratford recognises Shakespeare.

They say the installation to recognise Marlowe - planned to be "immensely robust, low maintenance and graffiti and vandal proof" - is long overdue.

They also believe it will become a landmark that can be used as a "social meeting or even trysting point".

If given the go-ahead by the city council, the statue will replace an electronic noticeboard which stands on the corner of the pavement, near to Caffe Nero.

The structure is to be created by Steven Portchmouth, the sculptor behind the iron bull in Tannery Field.

The Marlowe statue would be of similar ilk, and have a 'rusting' bronze aesthetic.

Proposals have been masterminded by the Canterbury Christopher Marlowe Statue Committee, and are planned to coincide with the council's £1.2 million vision to renovate the "tired" high street.

Designs show Marlowe holding up the masks of Tragedy and Comedy while also grasping a dagger as he fears an approach from his left - conveying his life as both a playwright and a government agent.

The iron statue will stand on a plinth which allows for seating around the base, and Marlowe's famous poem 'Come Live With Me and Be My Love' is to be engraved around the bottom.

"The sculptor's interpretation captures and conveys Marlowe's volatile personality, as a dramatist, a controversialist and the tense secret agent, the planning documents state.

"The sculpture will be of a semi-abstract figure, with allusions to 16th century apparel."

The proposals have gained the support of resident David Reekie, who said: "Christopher Marlowe is one of our greatest historical figures - our 'brilliant bad boy' and a literary genius.

"Younger people find him fascinating and are captivated by his life and violent, mysterious death. He richly deserves this contemporary and energetic sculpture so close to the place of his birth."

Marlowe was born in 1564, and his family are thought to have owned a house in St George's Lane, where the city's Fenwick department store now stands.

He was baptised at St George’s Church, where the clocktower now remains.

Therefore, if the statue plans are rubber-stamped, the famous playwright will take up residence just metres from both his birthplace and where he was baptised.

Marlowe, who died from a dagger to the forehead at the age of just 29, is thought to have heavily influenced Shakespeare's later work.

His dramas, such as The Jew of Malta, Doctor Faustus, and the Massacre at Paris are still performed around the world today.

Pre-planning approval for the statue was agreed in 2018, and now full planning permission is sought.