A ROMAN charioteer traversing Hoole roundabout or a gladiator standing proudly by the amphitheatre – these are just two of the bold statue ideas proposed by a Chester businessman to celebrate the city's history.

Today, Adam Dandy, owner of Dandy’s Topsoil and co-founder of SHARE (Supporting Homeless Assisting Refugees Everywhere), used Twitter to share his idea of a series of statues around the city to boost the fortunes of the city.

He asked Chester MP Chris Matheson, leader of Cheshire West & Chester Council Cllr Samantha Dixon and deputy leader Louise Gittins if they would support the idea if "I could raise the funds?"

Mr Dandy suggested a Roman charioteer on the Hoole Roundabout and a gladiator near the amphitheatre (pictured above).

Posting a bronze statue of a charioteer, he tweeted: “Imagine this to scale on Hoole Roundabout... with a sign saying ‘The people of Chester Welcome you to our proud City’.

“Isn’t it a shame that we don’t have a big statue of a Roman Solider here in Deva Victrix?”

Would Hoole Roundabout look better with a statue?

He said the motivation for the idea was to shout about what is good in Chester.

On Twitter, he said: “I think there’s an undercurrent in the City, lots are desperate for us to shout out about our famous history in key areas of the City. If Chester has 1 thing places like the Outlets & even other Northwest Cities don't have its an ancient history and we should be shouting about it

“And not just the Romans... We should have something at Rowton, a statue of King Charles on top of his tower maybe!... a plaque on the Old Dee Bridge to recognise “this is where KC escaped from before being caught and dragged back... we’ve got so much to shout about in Chester!!”

The Old Dee Bridge has also been suggested as the site for a statue

The idea is already causing a stir on social media.

People on Twitter were quick to support the idea. Some backed the idea for Roman and historical figures, but others championed more recent people with links to Chester, such as Russ Abbott and James Bond actors Daniel Craig and Roger Moore.

Simon Eardley, of Chester, tweeted: “The difference with the talk started by Adam just now (as opposed to the 'playing to the gallery' letters at the end of last year from some) is that this is precisely the sort of positive suggestion we need that would showcase our deep local history. Love it!

“Proud Cestrian” Andrew Povey said supported the idea of a trail of sculptures, similar to the Rhino Mania trail in Chester eight years ago.

He tweeted: “They were designed by lots of different artists, not sure who manufactured them though, but what a great idea; a sculpture trail across the city, highlighting significant events in the history of the city that people can engage with whilst seeing all of the sites of the city.”

Cllr Gittins said that such statues could be included in the forthcoming Northgate development that will also include new shopping, leisure and residential developments.

She tweeted: “There will be a public artist working on the Northgate development, this will involve extensive consultation so let’s see what that brings.”

But she added that statues could add character and value to a city.

She tweeted: “My favourites are Eleanor Rigby in Liverpool and statue of East German refugees on old border west Germany near Hannover. Saw these when I was 12 and still bring a tear to my eye.”

Many on social media added they were looking forward to reading people's ideas for statues on the letter's page of the Chester Standard.

Send you thoughts to letters@chesterstandard.co.uk