A CAMPAIGN has been launched to get a commemorative statue in Salisbury to best-selling fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett.

Pratchett, who lived in Broad Chalke, died in March aged 66 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. His final novel in the Discworld Series, The Shepherd’s Crown, was released last month.

Emily Brand, of Fordingbridge, is leading the campaign to get a permanent statue in place and has launched an online petition to gather support for the idea.

She said: “Terry Pratchett is a national icon when it comes to creating fantasy worlds that bring joy to millions of people. With over 70 books and 75 million copies sold worldwide, he created a powerful legacy that has encouraged reading and creativity. And here in Salisbury we were lucky enough to have him as a local resident for over 20 years. He worked with local people and artists, and made wonderful contributions to the local hospital. But there is little to inform the guests and residents of this vastly popular city of Sir Terry's involvement, or the love the community had for him in return.

“Salisbury takes pride in many notable statues and works of art across the city, but we would like to campaign for a permanent statue, in a prominent location, in memory of Sir Terry's incalculable role in the culture of this country.”

Emily has been in contact with Salisbury City Council and Wiltshire Council and is in the early stages of finding out about costs, funding and available locations.

One location she is looking at is the area outside Waterstones in Salisbury.

She says having a permanent statue would attract more visitors to the city.

“It would be really nice to get a permanent statue. It seemed a shame [that there was not a memorial]. I couldn’t see similar memorials to him so it would be nice to get that," said Emily.

“It would mean a lot, growing up he was the reason I got into fantasy and reading in general and made a difference. The idea is to make a little tribute to how much he meant to all."

The petition is looking to encourage the city council to take the project forward or provide help to make it happen. Emily says that she would consider crowd funding to help with costs of commissioning an artist to make the statue and maintaining it.

More than 1,200 people have signed the petition since it was launched about two weeks ago.

To sign it go to change.org/p/salisbury-city-council-campaign-for-a-permanent-statue-of-sir-terry-pratchett-in-salisbury