George Harrison's widow blocks campaign to erect statue of late former Beatle

George Harrison's widow Olivia has halted a campaign to erect a statue of the late Beatle near his Oxfordshire home.

James Lambert, from Henley-on-Thames, where Harrisson lived until his death in 2001, wrote to Olivia Harrison about his campaign to erect a bronze statue in her late husband's honour. She replied stating that she would prefer a community project instead.

"The statue could create problems of different types of fans turning up, the unwanted fans," Lambert told the BBC. "Gauging the pulse in terms of Henley residents I think there was a lot of support. This petition wasn't tapping into the Beatles fanfare worldwide, it was much more to recognise George's contribution to Henley and the affection Henley had for him."

He added: "I think the danger was it wouldn't just become a Henley acknowledgement of George's work but would encourage more people to visit Henley… I think what she's suggesting in terms of a community project would be great and it'll be very exciting to see exactly how this transpires."

Harrison moved to Henley-on-Thames in the 1970s when he bought a large stately home, Friar Park, saving it from demolition. The former Beatle died of cancer in 2001 aged 58.