Plans by an artist to turn the remaining timber washed from a wrecked ship onto the Sussex shoreline into a giant “wicker man” and burn it as a community event have been blocked by the local council.
Oliver Zurek wanted to construct a huge effigy, based onThe Wicker Man in the classic horror film of the same name, using wood from the stricken Ice Prince.
The bulk of timber from the ship has been salvaged since it washed up in January, but the Cow Gap area of shore, where Mr Zurek planned his stunt, is considered too remote for the wood to be recovered.
However, Eastbourne council has now said the beach is a protected area and that it would burn the wood in a series of small fires to prevent damage to vegetation on the shingle.
