A bronze statue in tribute to comedy duo Laurel and Hardy has received a £100,000 grant raising hopes that it will be in place in 18 months. The statue is to be positioned outside the Coronation Hall theatre in Ulverston, Cumbria, where Stan Laurel was born in 1890. The statue of Laurel and his comedy partner Hardy captures the duo leaning against a fully working lamppost, but has been in storage since 2005. Jayne Kendall, the council’s market towns initiative officer, said: “I anticipate that the statue will be in place within 18 months but it all depends on when work to improve the square finishes.” The sculptor Graham Ibbeson, also created the Eric Morcambe statue, which was unveiled in Lancashire, in 1999.