著名的雕像的男孩和女孩在忙着弥尔顿Keynes roundabout saved from split

The famous boy and girl who stand back to back on a busyMilton Keynesroundabout have been in danger of splitting.

The wooden painted statue was created in 1996 by sculptor Robert Koenig out of a giant cedar tree that was threatening to fall on a part of Cosgrove Hall, just outside the city.

After the tree was cut down for safety reasons, Robert hired a crane and carted the main trunk to his studio in Milton Keynes Village to prevent it being cut up and burnt .

He stood the trunk on its end, where it measured 2m in diameter and 7m long, and surrounded it with scaffolding.

He then spent the next eight months carving two figures, a male and a female, standing back to back.

A local woman, dressed in clothing fashionable at the time, acted as the model for the female figure.

The result was a giant monolith 2m wide and 5m tall, simply called ‘Boy and Girl’.

It was acquired by the New Towns Commission and sited on a purpose-made earth mound on the Timbold Roundabout at Kents Hill. The landscaping of the roundabout was done in such a style that it’s said to resemble a terraced amphitheatre.

But over the years, the wood started to split due to natural weathering, and parts of the sculpture were looking faded and tatty.

Recently MK City Council began a renovation programme on it, carefully filling the splits and giving it a coat of fresh paint that will protect it for years to come.

This weekMilton Keynes photographer Gill Princewent out to catpure the finished result on camera – and it looks amazing!

Another famous statue on a Milton Keynes roundabout is the ‘Leaping Man, which was built out of steel, on Fen Street Roundabout, at a cost of £100,000.

The 26ft high structure was to honour Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

It stands almost as high as Rutherford's British record of 8.51m, which was set in 2014 and has still not been beaten.