NELSONERS have to go all the way to London to see the statue of their town's famous namesake - but maybe not for long.

A Burnley stonemason has offered a statue of Lord Horatio, modelled on Nelson's Column in the capital, to Pendle Council for just £2,000, and shopkeepers say that is a bargain price for a new town centre focal point.

The idea first came up two years ago, when the council asked for sugges-tions for street art in the pedestrianised shopping centre.

But it was put on hold when councillors feared it could be too expensive.

However now a statue is available, and being kept off sale until the authority can find the cash to buy it, members said it was a real option for the town.

Nicholas Emery, of the town centre partnership, was the first to suggest the idea and has now put the council in touch with stonemason Charles Sutton who bought the sculpture from America.

He said: "I really do hope this goes ahead because it will be a great focal point for Nelson and something to remember the town for.

"We could easily stick up some soulless piece of modern art that would have nothing to do with the town and cost three times as much, but this could really bring some publicity and life back into Nelson.

"It would be a pity miss an opportunity to purchase this because it's the only one we have been able to find and really is a bargain - each of the many flagpoles in the town centre cost more than £2,000."

Nelson is not named after the Admiral himself, but stuck as the town's name in the late 19th century when the villages of Great Marsden and Little Marsden merged.

The Lord Nelson pub, which still stands in Scotland Road, was in the centre of the two.

The Pendle town is the only one in England called Nelson, and has a history of celebrating its names-ake.

Two years ago, when a new company took over the pub and bosses threatened to change the name to the Last Orders, a public outcry caused them to quickly back down.

And photographs from the 1940s show a temporary version of Nelson's Colu-mn, possibly built as part of a fundraising campaign, at the junction of Market Street and Scotland Road - the same site as where the new statue is proposed.

Chairman of Pendle Council's Nelson commit-tee Councillor David Foster said: "It's a very good idea and it's a very impressive statue.

"Maybe it could be incorporated into the redevelopment of the town centre.

"We need to go ahead and see if we can explore down that road and maybe we will be able to have our very own Nelson's Column."