It is a pity that Michael Wheller (Tokens of past should be left to fade away', Echo, May 24) does not read the columns of the Echo, or contact the council offices or read the large placards that adorned the cover to the Kings Statue when it was being renovated.

If he had done he would know that the renovation of the statue, the Esplanade and Queen Victoria is not being paid for by the council tax but by grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

If, of course Mr Wheller plays the lottery then he is paying for it but in a good cause, The renovation of the statue is not gaudy but in good taste and brings it back to its original glory, and I hope that the work on Queen Victoria will be similarly so well done.

ERIC ALLEY, Melcombe Avenue, Weymouth.

Reference the letter regarding the gaudy presentation of the King George statue.

I have to agree with many of the Wykeite's comments, but he must look deeper into the issue.

Look closely at George's face. He looks absolutely mad.

Who else would think that bathing in those once polluted seas would cure illness?

Having said that Weymouth would not be the town it is today without him.

Max Mortimer, Handborough Park, Chickerell.