FRED Dibnah's statue will find a home outside the former Trinity Church near his old stomping ground.

The original site for the statue was near the steam engine in Oxford Street in the town centre.

But issues with planning regulations meant the Fred Dibnah Appeal Fund organisers, decided to look for a different location.

Bill Greenhalgh, one of the Appeal's co-ordinators, said: "As Fred was a steeplejack, we wanted his statue to stand on top of a chimney. The council wanted the eight feet high statue to be at ground level. So we decided to look for a different site."

Conservative councillor John Walsh was instrumental in coming up with the new location outside the Grade 11 listed Trinity Church which is undergoing a major revamp to turn it into 38 flats after it has been derelict since it closed in 1992.

Cllr Walsh said: "Fred used to go into the Sweet Green Tavern which is opposite the church, and he was always in and out of the former Hick Hargreaves engineering company which was also nearby. The church was built by the Earl of Bradford between 1823 and 1825, and Fred's former home was a Bradford estate house. So it all fitted together."

He put the Appeal Fund organisers in touch with Seddon Silcock who bought the church and they were delighted with the idea of having the statue at the front of their development.

Cllr Wash added: "Once the rail interchange is up and running at the end of town, there will be a transport hub and we will have an excellent development.

"The statue will be seen by more passing traffic than it would in Oxford Street and it will be a tourist attraction. I am very pleased with the location, and the site is available."

Simon Lancaster, a spokesman for Seddon, said the statue would be erected facing Sainsbury's and the Sweet Green Tavern. "It is the ideal place. Fred was a local hero and this is a very busy road so he will be seen by lots of people."

Work on the Trinity Church is expected to start in the summer.

Fred's statue which will be cast in bronze, was made by sculptor Jane Robbins at her studio in Shrewsbury. It is hoped the statue, which has been paid for by fund raisers throughout Bolton and the country, will be unveiled in April to coincide with what would have been Fred's 70th birthday.

The Appeal Fund raised more than £46,000 and some of the money will go towards an engineering bursary in Fred's name at the University of Bolton.