Her body yesterday became one of the most talked about in Britain.

For once a naked pose that has split the nation is nothing to do with Jordan but another Sussex woman.

Alison Lapper will soon be towering 15ft over Trafalgar Square, London, her heavily pregnant body immortalised in a large block of white marble.

On Monday judges decided her artist friend Marc Quinn's sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant was the right choice to fill an empty plinth in the shadow of Nelson's Column.

Predictably the decision to place a statue of a nude pregnant woman with no arms next to military heroes and royalty in the best known tourist hotspot in Britain set the cat amongst its famous pigeons.

Readers of London's Evening Standard voted to reject Alison's statue and the other five artworks shortlisted for the honour, saying they preferred the plinth to be left empty.

The decision has reportedly been greeted with ridicule by art critics and politicians.

Tory shadow culture secretary Julie Kirkbride, who was in Brighton on Monday, criticised the choice for being "politically correct", saying: "Whilst childbirth is a great thing to celebrate, I still think we should have focused on individuals of great achievement the nation ought to commemorate."

But in Brighton and Hove criticism was thin on the ground, with many hailing Quinn, 40, and Alison as an inspiration.

The sculpture, chosen by a panel of contemporary art lovers as part of a rolling project to fill the empty plinth, was praised for its questioning of the modern-day stereotype of the body beautiful and for striking a blow against the cult of perfection.

Alison, 38, from Shoreham Beach, who was born with no arms and extremely short legs, is herself an artist whose work questions notions of physical normality and beauty in a society that considers her deformed.

Bert Massie, chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, said: "I'm extremely proud that one of the most popular tourist attractions in London will display a very powerful sculpture of a disabled woman.

"Congratulations to Marc for realising that disabled bodies have a power and beauty rarely recognised in an age where youth and perfection are idolised."

Val Richards, coordinator of the Brighton and Hove Federation for Disabled People, said: "We admire the way in which Alison publicly displays courage and independence.

"She has shown people can empower themselves by standing up for what they believe and disabled people are very much a part of our community."

Support too came from the local art world, including Helen Mears, curator of world art at Brighton Museum, which recently purchased a piece of Alison's own work.

She called Alison "a fantastic figurehead for 21st century art."

The judges were originally expected to choose just one work from the shortlist but have unexpectedly recommended two, Alison's portrait and that of German artist Schutte, Hotel For The Birds, a 2cm thick light-reflecting Perspex sculpture in yellow, red and blue.

Quinn's work should be installed next spring and will remain for up to 18 months. It will be followed by Schutte's sculpture in the summer of 2006.