06/08/2008 03:00:00

A life-size sculpture of a pig worth £750 has been discovered near a children's playground four days after it went missing.

'Dinopig', a feature of Bath's current public art project, was reported missing from its plinth near Victoria Park on August 2. The project involves the placement of 100 sculptured pigs around Bath as part of an exhibit that will run until the end of the month.

Entitled King Bladud's Pigs in Bath, the event marks a celebration of Bath, its origins and its artistic side. Once the event is over, the pigs will be auctioned off and proceeds donated to the Two Tunnels Project, which is a proposed shared use path for walkers and cyclists through Bath.

Popular Dinopig was found dumped beside Victoria Park by Bob Harden, a gardener at the Botanical gardens. The sculpture is the second of the event's exhibits to be stolen in the past four weeks. The other, 'Cowpig', has not yet been returned.

However, the project organisers are generally pleased with the lack of vandalism that has taken place. The Bath Chronicle reports that project manager, Justin Braithwaite, said: "We are delighted to have Dinopig returned to us and would like to take the opportunity to thank not only Bob Harden but also the media for publicising the theft so promptly.

"The sculpture will need a little loving care to restore him to his former glory but he should be back out on show before the end of the week."

The project is similar to international public art exhibition CowParade, which continues to see a colourful display of bovine sculptures travelling the world. The parade has visited London, the Isle of Man, Manchester and Edinburgh since its inception in 1999 and still enjoys a wildly popular fan base due to its highly accessible nature.