LOCALS have called on council bosses to get rid of a trendy art work they claim is now an “eyesore” and bad for the town.

The team behind the Plastic Mountain in West Norwood, South London, claim its an important work that highlights issues with plastic litter.

But now some locals in the area are calling on council bosses to tear it down because its an “eysore.”

One person claimed it was like throwing sewage on the floor to highlight problems with sewage.

Despite being described as a “participatory public artwork”, locals now say they aren’t so sure about it with many believing it makes the area look even worse.

Some also say that the litter attached to it has dropped off – something its creators deny.

“I hope we all agree that this is the worst ‘piece of art’ I have ever seen,” one local said on Facebook.

“I’ve complained to the council about it but they’ve done nothing. There are even studies done on how the beauty/ugliness of your local area affect life outcomes and ugliness does not come out well.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the presence of that monument actually resulted in more littering in our area.

“Honestly, I could do a whole ‘old man rant’ on this post but I’ll try to save my dignity. It’s awful.

“It’s like pouring sewage on the floor in protest against a poor sewage system, or knocking down houses to complain against the shortage of affordable housing.”

Another added: “Our kid could make a better sculpture. She’s six.”
“It’s an ugly eye sore,” another said, while another described it as an “absolute state.”

“It’s an eyesore, the sooner it melts away the better, taking the rubbish with it,” another said.

One added: “It makes the area look even more scraggy, why do we need that?”

Meanwhile one resident simply described it as a “pile of sh*t.”
But others said they understood the message behind it – and insisted it wasn’t meant to be pretty.

“Art will always attract primitive comments, but the fact that it keeps getting mentioned on here means that it’s working, it’s stimulating debate like all good art should,” one said.

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Another said: “It is not beautiful, it is very ugly – isn’t that exactly the point of it?

“Its simple message is that non-recyclable rubbish is going to make our neighbourhood, and indeed our world, an ugly and toxic place.

“The fact that it has provoked such strong reactions here suggests to me that it has been highly effective. I suspect that if the artist is reading these posts they will be very pleased.”

And another said: “Guys, the art isn’t meant to be pretty.
“It’s meant to introduce conversations like these.”

And another added: “From the state of the high street sometimes it’s obvious a lot of people don’t care about mess or pollution.

“As ugly as it is, this ‘sculpture’ is designed to make people think about our impact on the environment.”

Creator Ms Marshall said there was a “vocal minority” who didn’t like it – but it still carried a powerful message.

She said: “The sculpture hasn’t slipped, it is doing what we always said it would, which is that the earth is eroding and going, and the plastic litter remains.

“This is to show that nature has its cycles but plastic isn’t part of them, and remains.

“The plastic litter in the sculpture was all collected from the streets around the sculpture, and in the process of making it, we got lots of people litter picking and cleaning up the area.

“It is all attached to a metal framework inside the sculpture, so should be falling off.

“In the rare event of the string failing, we have local partners checking in it daily and we check on it two to three times a week.

“But yes, it does seem to be a bit of a Marmite project with some great sports and a vocal minority who don’t like the look of it.”

Plastic Mountain was built around a metal cage with plastic litter tied to it Compacted earth has then been used to turn the piece into a ‘mountain’ designed to degrade over time.

It has been designed by local artists and environmentalists Briony Marshall and Adeline Aletti to ‘slip’ as rain and wind batters it, revealing pieces of plastic at the top.

More than 1,000 locals were involved in the project, with many crowdfunding and others collecting pieces of litter to attach to it.

The project is supported by Arts Council England, Lambeth Council, the Norwood Forum, Friends of the Earth, and local businesses.

The Sun approached Lambeth Council for comment.