THE statue of Queen Victoria on Blackburn's Boulevard has been restored to its former glory -- after being sprayed by detergent all the way from Australia!

Blackburn with Darwen Council chiefs enlisted the help of monument cleaners from Graffiti Removal to spruce up the 100-year-old statue after calls for action in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on Friday.

A team of cleaners employed by the council spent three and a half hours yesterday delicately washing off the moss and fungus with natural materials designed to neutralise on contact with water.

Colin Armstrong, director of Graffiti Removal, based in Leyland, supervised the cleaning and said: "This is not the first Queen Victoria we have had to clean.

"We have also done the statue in Derby Square, in Liverpool, which was covered in graffiti.

"When you are cleaning a statue like this you must be really gentle and use products that will not damage the sculpture or cause further erosion.

"We use a specialist cleaning solution that we have to go all the way to Adelaide in Australia to buy and there is no other company in the UK who uses this detergent.

"Statues really do look good when they are slightly weathered -- but not green. So we are not trying to make the statue look brand new but we are cleaning the moss off and getting the green parts to look the same shade as the cleanest parts of the statue.

"She was placed here in 1905 and she should look as if she is 100 years old.

"We must be sympathetic and not use any chemicals that are harsh either."

Mr Armstrong said they decided to carry out the work on Sunday as this would be the quietest time and would cause the least disruption to shoppers and commuters who use the Boulevard and bus station.

He added: "I am sure the people of Blackburn will notice the difference when they return to work."