REDDITCH rock legend John Bonham will finally be honoured with a statute in the town centre.

A large bronze memorial depicting the Led Zeppelin drummer will be built in Mercian Square, off Church Green.

The main bulk of the funds for the memorial, by renowned British sculptor Mark Richards, have been raised thanks to a private donation.

The memorial will have an arc shaped footprint and be approximately 180cm high (at its highest point), 490cm wide by 125cm deep and weigh more than 2,500kg.

The statue, featuring a wheelchair friendly path around it, will be fixed onto a concrete foundation.

Hereford Times:

The striking design is intended for 360 degree viewing.

It is hoped the statue will be revealed before what would have been the iconic drummer's 70th birthday in May next year.

The plans were given the go-ahead at a Redditch Council meeting last night.

It is the culmination of years of hard work and fundraising by The John Bonham Memorial Fund, formed in 2013 to raise cash for a permanent memorial.

Bonham was born in Redditch and was the drummer for Led Zeppelin until he died at the age of 32 in 1980.