A giant plastic gnome would be more tasteful!

That is just one of the reactions to the announcement a £2m 150ft horse statue is to be erected in the middle of Kent.

The work of art, created by former Turner prize winner Mark Wallinger, is to be built at Ebbsfleet in north Kent.

Organised by the Ebbsfleet Landmark Project, it will be 33 times the size of a normal horse.

But our website readers have dismissed the artwork in their droves!

Mrs S Jones of Gravesend, said: “It is all well and good having a horse to represent Kent, but it is not standing right, Kent's horse is always on standing on its hind legs rearing up, note horse next to the KM logo!!! So what a waste of money. Obviously the sculptor has no idea about Kent, just pound signs in front of his eyes !!!”

Paul Robinson of Canterbury, agreed the idea was a good one, but said the Invicta horse would have been a better choice.

He said: “The proposed horse wouldn’t look out of place with Barbie plonked on top riding over to Ken’s farm for a saucy liaison.

"Sometimes it's good to spend large amounts of money for a better environment but not if it’s going to be for a giant toy horse that will only be interpreted as a large restaurant by our day-tripping French cousins. “

Mark, of Sittingbourne, said a giant plastic gnome would be more tasteful than the horse “abomination”.

Read how the announcement was made: The Angel of the South is a big horse!>>>He said: “Ask anyone the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Kent, and a white horse is far from top of the list. However, it is part of the KCC logo, so understandable to a degree. I'd propose a giant shield with a white horse (from KCC) on a black background - only the background would really be a large solar panel - at least it'd give the right kind of signal to newcomers, and serve some kind of practical purpose.”

A reader, only described as AW of Gravesend, said: “What a disappointment - as if there aren't enough horses clogging up our country lanes we now have to look at a giant uninteresting one every time we drive through the Swanscombe cutting! It’s embarassing that the people of Kent could not come up with something better than this.”

But not everyone was against the work of art.

Peter Bettley, of Deal said the statue was 'splendid and imaginative!'

“This is a piece of art, to provoke debate and challenge ideas. Those who would prefer the "Invicta" horse are missing the point - it's not a giant logo or advertising slogan. Every piece of artwork was original once! Good luck in raising the rest of the money.

Wallinger’s white horse was part of an original shortlist of five designs, including Daniel Buren’s tower of stacked cubes, Richard Deacon’s steel “nest”, Christopher Le Brun’s wing and disc, and Rachel Whiteread’s recycled mountain.

• Editor's note: Thank you for all your comments so far. We would like to point out that no taxpayers' money is being used to fund the project.