City to spend £70,000 on 'floozy'

The fountains surrounding the "floozy" have been switched off

Up to £70,000 has been set aside for engineers to investigate and hopefully fix leaks in one of Birmingham's most famous statues.

The giant statue of a woman bathing in Victoria Square, known as the Floozy in the Jacuzzi, has been switched off as it has been losing water.

Chris Rice, head of community museums for Birmingham City Council, said he was glad the money was being set aside.

"The money is to investigate leaks and hopefully to make repairs," he said.

'Important art'

"If I could switch the statue back on tomorrow, I would," he said. "It looks terrible at the moment. It is arguably the most important piece of public art in the city."

He acknowledged the investigation may throw up a need for more money than £70,000 to be spent on repairs.

"But it should not be impossible to get it working again," he said.

The massive water feature was installed in 1993 when Victoria Square was pedestrianised and remodelled.