Stars help Larkin society hit statue target

The Philip Larkin Society raised the final 7,000 during an Evening With Maureen Lipman, a sell-out dinner and auction event held last week with the Hull-born actress.

This followed other successful fundraising events, including a one-man show performed in June by one of Hull's other acting legends, Sir Tom Courtenay.

Carole Collinson, chairman of the statue commissioning group, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have reached our target for the erection of the statue and are deeply grateful to all the individuals, businesses, organisations and trusts that have been so generous with their time and money. To have hugely talented Hull celebrities such as Sir Tom Courtenay and Maureen Lipman give their services free over the last few months to help us raise funds has been a great privilege and shows how important the connection is between Larkin and their city."

Sculptor Martin Jennings, who created a statue of the poet Sir John Betjeman at London's St Pancras Station, is already working on the 7ft bronze, a scale model of which is pictured above.

The work is due to be unveiled on the concourse of Paragon Station on December 2, marking the 25th anniversary of Larkin's death.