Lost garden statue is set to make €5k

A RARE statue hidden under garden weeds for almost 100 years is likely to fetch €5,000 at auction.

The 2ft-high ceramic figure The Lily Maid was one of a handful made by English sculptor Gilbert Bayes in the early 1920s.

It was found in Louth, Lincs, by a man clearing his grandparents’ garden.

Alastair Mcphiemeiklejon of auctioneers Golding Young & Mawer said: “Its condition is remarkable.

“It probably had a lot of protection from the dense undergrowth.”

It will be up for auction in Lincoln on July 18 and is expected to sell for between €2,000 and €5,000.