Dudley town centre West Midlands ©Liz Callan (12)
Ben could not understand why the man would not speak to him. 
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A TRIBUTE to Dudley poet Ben Boucher could end up becoming a ‘selfie’ attraction with visitors to the town centre.

Two stone seats have now been installed next to the fountain in the new market place - one of which has a life-sized statue of the poet sitting on it.

The bronze statue of Boucher is pointing to verses from his humorous poem, Lines on Dudley Market, which have been inscribed into the seats.

A coal miner by trade, he frequented the pubs of Dudley reciting and selling his poetry, which covered topics from hangings to animal fights.
He died when he was 82, whilst living in a workhouse.

Borough artist Steve Field designed the tribute using Dudley resident David Purser wearing Victorian clothes for his drawings and the initial 3D clay model.

The seats and statue are part of the £6.7 million regeneration of the town centre, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Dudley Council.

The statue was produced by sculptor John McKenna whose previous work includes the Wimbledon Tennis champion Dorothy Round Little statue in Priory Park.
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