Long live the King of Rushmere!

The park announced this week that the sculpture would now remain as a permanent fixture.

Located outside the Herons’ View Visitor Centre, The Fairy King arrived at the park last November, along with several woodland fairy sculptures which were displayed within the park forming a temporary Festive Fairy Trail enjoyed by many over the festive holiday period.

While the woodland fairies have now disappeared, the king remains and environmental charity The Greensand Trust, which runs the park, wanted to raise the money to buy the sculpture, keeping it at the park for visitors to enjoy all year round.

The Trust needed to raise £1,500 following a substantial discount on the original price offered by the sculptor Ian Freemantle as his contribution to the campaign.

A spokesman said: “We’re delighted to announce the Fairy King will be staying at the park!

“We’ve secured £1,094 via our crowdfunding campaign, collected over £600 in coins on site and we still have the raffle for a pair of fantastic Opticron binoculars - this will be drawn on Monday 27th so get your tickets now!

“Many thanks to everyone who supported the campaign and helped us achieve this! Long live the King!”