FEARS of vandalism have scuppered plans to reinstate busts of two of Malvern's best-known musicians in Priory Park.

The original busts of Sir Edward Elgar and Swedish singer Jenny Lind were removed from their plinths in Priory Park to make room for a compound during the major refurbishment of Malvern Theatres.

"It was envisaged on completion of the works they'd be installed in a safe place where they could be viewed by the public, and agreements were reached between the council and the Theatres Trust for them to be placed in the Malvern Theatres," said Malvern Hills District Council's head of economic development and tourism Sharon Gray.

The council also intended to produce moulds from the original busts and place the replicas on the plinths in Priory Park.

The council's executive committee abandoned this idea after discussion at its meeting last week.

"Councillors raised some concerns about potential vandalism if the replicas were to be reinstated in Priory Park so they have decided not to go ahead with this," said Mrs Gray.

The busts will now be installed on new stainless steel pedestals inside the Theatres at a cost of £2,000.

Mrs Gray added: "The busts of Elgar and Jenny Lind are an important part of Malvern's cultural history and the installation will provide an additional attraction at the Theatres complex for visitors and residents."

Margaret Fotheringham, marketing officer at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, said she was pleased the composer's bust would be on show to the public again, but was concerned what was going to happen to the empty plinth in Priory Park.

Jean Dunlop, who helped fund the first Jenny Lind plinth in the park, welcomed the decision. She said she hoped the Swedish opera singer Elizabeth Soderstrom would be invited to the unveiling of the busts on their new stands.

The singer waived her fee after a 1987 concert in Malvern to pay for the Jenny Lind bust, but has never seen it.

Elgar's love of the Malvern Hills, most famously expressed through the Enigma Variations, put the spa town on the international map.

Swedish soprano Jenny Lind was born in Stockholm, but spent the last years of her life with her husband in her adopted home town of Malvern, at Wynds Point. She gave several concerts in aid of local charities, including Worcester Royal Infirmary.