Dudley the donkey statue to be removed for potential repair

Dudley the donkey is being removed and returned to the artist for potential repairs following extensive damage to his ears and body.

The well-known statue was first installed in Pier Gardens 12 years ago to honour Gladys Nuttall, along with her husband Buster, who first brought donkeys to Cleethorpes seafront in the 1940s.

Unfortunately, over the last decade, Dudley has been subject to the harsh elements of the sea front; damaged when people climb on him and had his ears broken off from occasional acts of vandalism.

In previous years, Dudley has been repaired by the artist in Pier Gardens; however, with such extensive damage, he needs to be removed for them to assess whether further repairs are viable.

Local construction management firm JemBuild will be removing him before he is returned to the artist for further evaluation.

Should he be repaired, further research will be carried out to determine where he will be reinstalled to ensure he is preserved for future generations.