Ever wondered what happened to the giant sheep which used to loom over shoppers in Maidstone High Street?

Originally commissioned by the borough council in the mid 1990s as the centrepiece for a flower festival, the 18-foot model became the Marmite of Maidstone.

The wire and plaster model adorned with 2,600 flowers, was known as Shorn and first stood in the centre of Jubilee Square.

It remained there on and off for five years, causing quite the stir with local people, who were continuously arguing over whether it was good or bad to have the county town represented by a sheep.

After the council decided not to pay for it any more, Shorn was bought by Grafty Green Garden Centre.

However, many fought for its return.

So the garden centre agreed to loan the animal structure to the town centre management initiative for four months a year, when it stood outside Chequers Bus Station.

This went on for at least 10 years until the contract ended and Shorn returned to his Grafty Green home.

When the garden centre closed in 2015, the owners were planning to scrap the sheep, but one couple swooped in to save the day.

Owner of boutique hotel Who'd A Thought It, Joe Mallett and his partner Alex Baldwin bought Shorn for the price of two charity meals at their on-site restaurant.

Mr Mallett said: "It was just sitting there left to rot away and I thought we might as well have it.

"I bought it for just two charity meals but I had to transport it myself. I rented one of those machines you use to lift hay bails and stuck it under its belly but its head fell off.

"But then I found out I could lift the body off the legs, so we took it apart and put it on the truck like that."

Once Shorn arrived at the hotel, also in Grafty Green, Mr Mallett considered whether to carry on the tradition of covering the sheep in flowers each summer.

The 54-year-old said: "I thought it would be a labour of love to plant it with flowers every year so instead we covered it with artificial purple grass and a gold stainless steel sign saying #Who'dAThoughtIt."

Shorn now stands in the front garden welcoming guests and has even appeared on an episode of Celebrity Hunted.

Miss Baldwin, 37, said: "It was the episode with Steph and Dom from Gogglebox. They're good friends of ours and came here to hide for a night."

The pair also ran a competition for the best picture with the giant woolly creature.

Mr Mallett, who has run the hotel for 33 years, added: "We had people climbing up almost naked with tape covering them up and another guy with full armour. The winner won a night in our hot tub room."

Well, there you go, who'd a thought Shorn would end up at Who'd A Thought It?

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