A controversial sculpture is on offer to anyone who will take it away.

Despite costing £270,000 when they were built in 1998, there are no takers for Newcastle's "Lego Men" as they have been dubbed.

The artwork, by sculptor Ray Smith, has been ridiculed by traders and shoppers, who have branded it a monstrosity and a waste of money.

Now, with a decision due on the future development of nearby Haymarket Metro station, the city council's cabinet member for culture, tourism and sport, Councillor Colin Gray, is determined to bring the fiasco to an end.

He said: "Frankly, the ordinary man in the street does not see it as a work of art. The little men leave him cold. It seems the decent thing to do would be to let anyone who wants them to come and take them."

So far, there have been no takers. Coun Gray has his own ideas on where they might end up.

"They could go to an ornamental park somewhere else in the city or maybe to one of the new developments that are cropping up all over Newcastle."

Kevan Jones, former Newcastle city councillor and now MP for Durham North, has come up with a more direct solution.

"I would happily take a sledgehammer to it myself. I would like to see it scrapped completely, because I don't see why we should inflict it on people."