Statue of communist leader Lenin in Brighton park fundraiser

More than ten donors have cobbled together a grand total of £110 to build a tribute to the Russian revolutionary in Norfolk Square, Brighton.

“The people of Brighton and Hove have decided they would like a statue of Lenin to be erected in Norfolk Square,” the fundraiser by Brenda Treggenis reads.

“Ten thousand pounds will cover building the statue and pay for a huge street party on the day that it is unveiled.”

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his alias Lenin, served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia.

The fundraiser adds: “If we don't reach our target or our enemies somehow thwart our attempts to erect a statue of Lenin in Brighton we will donate all the money raised to Sussex Homeless Support and Clock Tower Sanctuary.”

Norfolk Square © Copyright Simon Carey

Spurious characters have donated towards the scheme so far.

They include a £5 donation from “Charles, Prince of Wales” who wrote: "The transcendental worker’s consciousness is the auto-production of the real, the production of production, so that for analysis there is the real exactly in so far as it is built.”

Other names include Grigori Rasputin, a Russian mystic from the early 1900s, and Petr Kropotkin, a political thinker who advocated anarcho-communism.

They donated £5 and £10 respectively.

The name Comrade Derek also features on the list. A man of a similar name once appeared in The Argus claiming to be helping to start a UK-wide revolution in the name of Chairman Mao.

The £5 donation was Comrade Derek’s first on the site.

The city’s Tories reckon the Crowdfunder is an early April Fool’s joke.

Councillor Robert Nemeth said: “When making statements on odd stories before or on April 1, it’s of course necessary to think carefully.

“This is obviously an April Fool’s joke as nobody in their right mind would suggest such a thing in reality.”