A TV show is campaigning for a Witham pop star to have his own statue in the town.

Olly Murs, who was made famous for his success on The X Factor, has a loyal fanbase in his home town.

TV presenters for 4Music's Trending Live show have said he needs to be recognised as one of the biggest singing stars around.

They visited Witham Town Centre on Tuesday, February 28, to encourage residents and fans to back the campaign.

Paddy Kelly, executive producer for the show, said: "Our campaign started when Trending Live presenter AJ Odudu noticed Olly hadn’t been nominated for a Brit Award.

"She suggested that Olly should get a statue in his home town and our viewers seemed to agree.

"Since then we’ve been blown away with the way the campaign has grown and grown.

"Olly’s fans and locals in Essex all seem to agree it’s a great idea.

"Olly’s been top of his tree for more than seven years, it’s about time he was immortalised in marble or bronze and we’re going to ramp up our campaign until it happens.”

Signatures on the petition so far include those of singers Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Jonas Blue and Conor Maynard.

The team spoke to deputy mayor of Witham Town Council, JoAnn Williams, about the campaign.

She said: "He does deserve to be recognised, he's the ambassador for Brainwave which is a fabulous children's charity.

"Witham is proud of him, and it was really fun speaking to the show on Skype.

"My daughter who is 21 thinks it's a great idea."

A petition was also signed by celebrities at the Brit Awards in February.

The hashtag #StatueforOlly is being used by singing stars and fans on Twitter.

Trending Live is on 4Music Monday to Thursday, from 4pm until 6pm.