agray@thekmgroup.co.uk

Queen Victoria would not have been amused.

A plan to spruce up the famously haughty monarch’s statue in Maidstone High Street has been put on hold – because a pigeon has taken up residence in the monument.

The feral freeloader has nested in the centrepiece’s spire, forcing a cleaning contractor to postpone its makeover which needs to be ready in time for the new-look High Street’s official opening on Friday, June 1.

Initially deterred by excess water damaging newly-laid slabs at the foot of the statue, stonemason Gordon Newton cancelled the job when he found the nesting bird cooing over a clutch of eggs.

Mr Newton, 64, who runs The Stone Shop in East Farleigh, dismantled the scaffolding which had ringed the monument for two days in preparation for the work and arranged to return when the pigeon and her brood have flown.

He said: “There’s no point in destroying a bird’s nest if we can take a bit of time to let them hatch and mature.
“If we were nearer the official opening date I would’ve had to clean around the pigeons.
“But I wouldn’t like to disturb a nest.”

It is thought the eggs will take around three weeks to hatch, by which time work around the base of the statue will be completed.

Maidstone council confirmed the clean-up’s cancellation will not affect the £2.2million High Street project.

A council spokesman said: “The monument cleaning contractor said he rescheduled to fit in with the main works and that he would return when the brood had fledged.”

Richard James, the RSPB’s wildlife advisor, said: “All wild birds including pigeons are covered by the Wildlife and Countryside Act.”