In the 19th Century, coprolite miners in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, dug up fossilized feces to use for fertilizer. Now a sculpture is due to be erected on the village green as a memorial to their work. The sculpture will feature four bronze dung globules, each the size of a large beach ball, sitting on a three-foot-high brick column. It will be erected later this year.

"I think it's an excellent idea," said parish council chairman Jack White. "We've been planning it for a long time and it has the backing of villagers. It's unusual and imaginative and will celebrate our history. Coprolite mining was a thriving industry in this area in the 19th century and a lot of local people were involved."

Other less anal ideas for a memorial were offered, but the local villagers expressed a preference for the highly original dung ball sculpture that celebrates the community's shitty past.