Lance Armstrong beat
competition from Abu Hamza and George Osborne to be the guy at the Edenbridge
bonfire celebrations
An
effigy of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong wearing a Jim'll Fix It badge will
be burned at a Kent town's annual bonfire celebrations.
A
30ft (9m) model of the American, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France
titles for doping offences, will go up in flames in Edenbridge. The Jim'll Fix
It badge is in reference to TV presenter Jimmy Savile who is suspected of
widespread sexual abuse. Radical cleric Abu Hamza and Chancellor George Osborne
were also considered.
Members
of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society said choosing Mr Armstrong as the effigy,
which will be torched in front of thousands of people on Saturday, was not
easy.
'Biggest
villain'
Spokesman Mark Young said: "Lance
Armstrong is certainly the biggest villain in sport, with fans across the globe
feeling cheated by a man who was thought to be whiter than white."
Society
co-ordinator Charles Laver said Mr Osborne was ruled out for being "a bit
boring". "We had a shortlist which included Jimmy Savile but it was
decided it would not be nice to use him as a lot of children attend the bonfire
and they might start asking their parents questions," he said. "Then
we had George Osborne but he hasn't really got a face that everyone knows and
he's just a chap in a suit. We felt he would be a bit boring. "We started
to do Abu Hamza but then we decided we weren't entirely happy to do him, so
Lance Armstrong came out of the woodwork."
Sussex
martyrs
Other
public figures who have been chosen as the celebrity guy at Edenbridge in past
years include Cherie Blair, Katie Price, Gordon Brown and Russell Brand.
Last
year the society chose Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, who was picked
after a firework was set off in his bathroom.
Edenbridge
Bonfire Society is one of dozens of bonfire societies across the South East,
mainly in Sussex. The societies are thought to have grown out of the "cult
of the Sussex martyrs" which started in the 19th Century.
Every
year during October and November each society holds a 10-week "bonfire
season". Bookmaker William Hill had
Mr Armstrong listed as the favourite to be the effigy, with footballers John
Terry, Ashley Cole and Luis Suarez also considered.
BBC News
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