A perturbed pensioner is calling on council chiefs to return a 20ft-long fibreglass elephant removed from his driveway over safety fears.

Trevor Robinson says he’ll pay “whatever it takes” to get the former piece of play equipment back outside his semi-detached property.

But neighbours aren’t so keen, saying Medway Council did them all a favour by taking away the multi-coloured “monstrosity”.

Mr Robinson took delivery of “Ellie” two months ago when he spotted sub-contractors preparing to remove it from Gillingham’s Strand playpark.

It was destined for landfill after being deemed unsafe following 30 years’ service as a water slide at the riverside attraction.

However, the lifelong Strand visitor had different ideas and managed to persuade them to drop it off at his home three miles away in Romany Road, Twydall.

He said: “I was going kayaking and they were just breaking it down and bringing it out and saying it was going to go to the tip, so I said ‘no, I’ll rescue it’.

“It was like a toy, like a pet. I’m like a big kid, I was over the moon when they said I could have it, I really was.”

Eight-foot tall “Ellie” arrived in four pieces and was too big and heavy to carry into the back garden as planned, so the former forklift driver assembled it in the driveway.

He then hatched a plan to hire a crane to lift it over his house but this required the closing of the road and various other permissions.

He added: “It was going to be the crowning glory of all my little toys in the back garden, the centrepiece.

“She was going to be here on my lawn, and I was going to build a little pond, so you could slide down it into the water.

“I was even going to let all the kids come in, with their parents obviously, and use it.

“But before I could arrange it, the council said ‘no, it’s got to go’.”

The local authority, which took action when contacted by unimpressed residents, was surprised to hear the model had not been dumped as arranged.

KentOnline spoke to numerous people in the street, including next-door neighbour Shirley Daniel.

She was not a fan of the feature and said there was no way it was ever going to be lifted over the house because of power lines at the front of the property

So she felt it was destined to stay on the drive until someone took it away.

She said: “When it arrived, we just thought ‘what on earth, what on earth is he doing now?’

“It arrived on a flatbed truck, and then half of it came, and then they obviously went off and brought the other half back.

“It stayed flat for a while, and then he stuck it up, and for the neighbours opposite, it looked a bit shocking.

“But we could see how it was all held together, the bits of string tied to bits of old wood, the fact that it was unsafe, it could have fallen at any time - it was dangerous.

“Children from the school were interested, so it became a concern because it was unsafe.”

She added: “Realistically, there was no way that was going in the back garden, and I can’t believe for a moment he actually thought he could leave it [in the drive].

“The council’s planning department would have had a field day. We couldn’t get permission for a six-foot shed in our front garden, never mind a 20-foot-long elephant.

“Eventually, we did say something to the council, but we weren’t the first.

“Yes, the children liked it and people looked at it when they went by, but they didn’t have to live with it day-in, day-out.

We couldn’t get permission for a six-foot shed in our front garden, never mind a 20-foot-long elephant…

“I’m very pleased it’s gone to the great elephant graveyard in the sky, and I’m not alone in that.”

Describing Ellie’s demise, Mr Robinson says one of the sub-contractors got back in touch to say he was in trouble for not taking it to landfill as requested.

He added: “The bloke who delivered it here, he came and he told me he was going to lose his job if he didn’t remove it because he was contracted to take it to a tip.

“Landfills are bad enough, so why put a big lump of fibreglass in there when it could have stayed here with me?

“It wouldn’t have done it any harm - wouldn’t have needed a lot to feed it either.”

A Medway Council spokesperson said: “During our annual health and safety audit of The Strand, the slide, which is now more than 30 years old, was not deemed to be safe so we took the decision to remove it.

“Medway Norse arranged for a sub-contractor to remove the structure.

“Once we became aware a resident had the slide following complaints, we arranged for it to be picked up so it can be safely disposed of as it is an unsafe structure.”

Speaking just days after the slide was removed, Mr Robinson was hopeful that wouldn’t be the end of the matter, saying he’d pay big money for Ellie’s return.

He said: “If I could speak to the council, I’d say ‘please give me it back, it’s such a novelty thing, everybody loved it’.

“She wasn’t doing any harm, was she? Just sitting there, it’s such a shame.

“Whatever it costs to get it back and get it in there, I’d pay it. I mean that.”