By Matt Smith

A PUZZLE which has baffled Alcester residents for more than 30 years has been solved - thanks to one woman's quest.

Alcester Town Council has been trying to find out what the History Stone sculpture, outside the Globe House, Seggs Lane, depicted.

But Liz Tandy found out the meanings of inscriptions on the 8ft-high sculpture after speaking to former Warwickshire County Architect Eric Davies.

Mr Davies revealed that he had commissioned the work in 1969 and it was put in the garden of Alcester's new civic buildings.

He also revealed that Walter Ritchie - who is also responsible for the memorial sculpture to Leonard Hutton at the entrance to Surrey Cricket Ground - was the sculptor of the Portland stone artwork .

Alcester Town clerk Derrick Ward said: "I have been asked so many times what the inscriptions on the stone were and I knew some of them because they had obvious meanings.

"But nobody could work out what meaning the other inscriptions had to Alcester.

"And we've now got the definition thanks to a member of the public, who came up with the full history which links to the past of the town."

The six panels include:

l Needle and Spring - products of Alcester's past industries.

l Goose - A reminder of Alcester's Goose Fair.

l Roman Soldier - representing the Roman settlement in Alcester.

l Lady on a horse with a bird - The transport history in Alcester.

l Man carrying a heavy sack - A 14th century miller.