Campaign to take captain's statue 'home'

A statue of the captain of the ill-fated Titanic could be moved to his home city almost 100 years after being rejected by his townsfolk.

Captain Edward John Smith's statue was put up in Beacon Park, Lichfield, in 1914 because Stoke-on-Trent refused it. They did not wish to be associated with the disastrous liner.

The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912 claiming the lives of 1,517, including its skipper.

A campaign has now been started to get the bronze statue moved to Captain Smith's home town of Hanley. But Lichfield council bosses want to keep it.