Festive pranksters have struck again in a South Warwickshire village to turn a statue of its most famous son into a pink-haired troll.

The stone statue of Lord John Scott, who died in 1860, is a regular Christmas target for jokers in Dunchurch.

In the past it has been turned into Harry Potter, Shrek, Peppa Pig, Homer Simpson, and The Grinch in a tradition dating back to the 1970s.

This year jokers turned the statue into Queen Poppy from the movie Trolls Band Together.

Mystery surrounds the identity of the pranksters who dress up the statue in the dead of night every December.

This year jokers turned the statue into Queen Poppy from the movie Trolls Band Together (image via SWNS)



Locals say the statue's festive decorations are put of local Christmas tradition (image vis SWNS)

Villager David Armstrong, 60, said: “I’ve lived here all my life and no one knows who the statue jokers are. It’s been going on for years.

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“I think it started as a drunken prank and then grew from there.

“It’s become an institution now and we all wait every year for who the statue will be. It’s just a bit of fun.”

Yousaf Hussain, director at Carter & King estate agents, said: "It’s part of Christmas in Dunchurch, everyone waits to see what it’s going to be.

"It feels like Christmas has arrived when it’s unveiled - it’s usually about a week before Christmas when it goes up."

The statue commemorates the Lord, who was a Grenadier Guards officer, a Scottish MP and a landlord, who died aged 51 in 1860.

The statue without its festive outfit change (Image via SWNS)

Previously the statue has been turned into Harry Potter, Shrek, Happy Feet, Pikachu, Homer Simpson, an Olympic athlete, The Grinch, and Peppa Pig! (image via SWNS)