CHISWICK residents celebrated news this week that the statue of William Hogarth, revealed amid much fanfare over three months ago, has returned after it was withdrawn by the sculptor to remedy faults in the moulding.

The statue, which was unveiled by Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop, on October 23rd, 2001, was only allowed to cast its watchful eye over the High Road for a couple of weeks before it was taken away in early November.

However, the statue reappeared on Tuesday, and its arrival was welcomed by Cole Manson, president of the Chiswick Traders' Association (CTA), the organisation responsible for setting up the Hogarth memorial fund.

He said: Isn't it terrific, a great boom to the area. It's art and will please and enhance people's daily lives. Even on a subliminal level it will improve the standard of lives.''

The reasons for getting a statue was, he told the Times, a matter of taking pride in Chiswick's culture.

We were attracted to the idea of a statue of Hogarth because of his presence in Chiswick. He was a local man and a famous painter.

We saw it as a cultural matter that Chiswick should be proud of. People coming to Chiswick will see the statue and see that the area is proud of itself.''

He even quipped that Tommy Cooper was also a famous local. Maybe we'll start a campaign for a statue of him!''

William Hogarth (1697-1764) lived in Chiswick from 1749 and became famous for his prints, amongst which are his satirical Modern Moral' essays such as A Rake's Progress' and Marriage a la Mode' which mocked the vices of 18th century London.

His prints became so popular that Hogarth campaigned for a copyright law after many pirate copies of his prints were circulated.

He succeeded in 1735 when the Engravers Copyright Act was introduced, the first in British law, and was called Hogarth's Act'.

Mr Brendon, the former membership secretary of the CTA, who had taken a leading role in getting the statue, explained the reason for the delay was the perfectionism of the artist.

He said: It's been a long two weeks, but the sculptor Jim Mathieson was very particular about the statue and wanted to get it absolutely right.

This time it's perfect - it's absolutely wonderful and the phone hasn't stopped ringing with residents delighted with it.''

More improvements to the statue will be underway over the next few weeks, as the statue is to get floodlights, to ensure that one of Chiswick's most influential residents ever gets the chance to shine day and night.

Mr Brendon did warn, however, that funding for the statue was still short of almost £10,000.

The statue had cost £62,000 in total, and was divided into £52,000 for Hogarth and £10,000 for the dog, meaning that currently Hogarth's favourite companion, Pug, could be facing Battersea Dogs' Home.

Before that happens, as Chrissy Blake, a painter on the Hogarth Millennium Committee explained, there are some fundraising events planned: We will celebrate Hogarth's birthday on November 15th with a party on the nearest available Saturday.

Last year we had an Art auction and a musical opera. Maybe we'll have a rock concert this year - we're open to suggestions.''

She added: I'm ecstatic that it's back - we should celebrate this statue, as it's optimistic and positive. Hogarth was a very humane and kind man, who was among the first to paint black people, who he had the greatest respect for.

We have places like Hogarth school, but many of the youngsters there won't know who he is, which is a crying shame.

As I said to Ian [Hislop] when the statue was unveiled, someone asked me 'why are you naming a statue after a roundabout?''