This is why there's a massive naked golden statue in Wigan

Residents in Wigan got an eye-popping surprise when they saw a giant, naked golden statue suddenly appeared in town recently.

On-lookers were baffled at the sight of the golden Olympian with a 10-inch penis who popped up outside the Titan Flooring Specialists shop.

The well-toned – and extremely naked – figure stirred up all sorts of emotions fro residents, who had no idea what it was doing there.

Father-of-two Lee Davies said: “I actually love it but it’s a bit inappropriate. I’m not talking about its golden appendage, just where it is.

“It is maybe something you would see in the town centre, but even then people would be baffled by it.

“But outside a shop on Landgate – it’s just bizarre. It’s a great PR stunt, it’s got everyone talking.

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“I don’t know if anyone actually likes it – apart from me.”

A teacher at nearby Western Skills Centre added: “It certainly does catch your eye. I didn’t expect to come in on a Wednesday morning and see a big gold naked man.”

Another onlooker said: “It is quite a vision but I imagine it would be quite off-putting to passing drivers.”

However, the mystery has now been solved – the statue was actually part of a promotion tour of the blockbuster movie Gladiator that starred Russell Crowe back in 2000.

The figure was a temporary gift from the store’s landlord who bought it following the blockbuster’s hype over 17 years ago – and wanted it to advertise the business.

A spokesperson for Titan, said: “The statue itself was used all around the country to promote the Gladiator film with Russell Crowe.

“It’s just a bit of fun. It’s there for a temporary period then the landlord will take it to use for something else.

“It’s great it brings attention to the store. We still get quite a lot of people who don’t know we are here – they will now.”

Top pic: SWNS