The Diana Dors Statue, West Swindon.

Swindon is, let's face it, something of a joke to people who don't live there. Radio 4's "The Now Show" once featured a song about Swindon, composed and sung by Mitch Benn, which suggested the town's sole claim to fame was being "off Junction 16 of the M4".

Largely speaking, this is unkind, as the town is justly famous for features as diverse as the Great Western Railway Village, one of the finest restored works villages in Britain, and "The Magic Roundabout" Britain's first multi-junction and still the largest in Europe (as well as the most accident free).

Unfortunately, Swindon has from time to time, been guilty of what can only be described as criminal crassness.

In this category, John Clinch's bronze parody of Diana Mary Fluck, better known as the actress Diana Dors must represent the nadir of poor taste.

The statue was unveiled in 1991 and is sited in the 'Shaw Ridge Entertainment Centre' actually part of the West Swindon complex. A quick perusal of any picture of the actress, will reveal little in common with the chunk of bronze that bears her name. The work seems crude at best and cruel at worst. One can't help but feel that whoever accepted the thing into public ownership must have had some kind of ulterior motive.

Diana Dors may not have been this country's greatest actress but she was a genuinely effective player who might have gone on to better things if it had not been for a disasterous marriage and some poor business decissions.

To commemorate her with this monstrosity is an act of vandalism alleviated only by the obscurity of its location. In that respect, the West Swindon Centre seems like a better choice of home than somewhere more central and one has to suppose that there must be space in our environment for even the least attractive art!