Which Plymouth hero would you like on portrait bench?

THOUSANDS of commuters had a chance to vote for the local heroes they would like to see on their way to work.

Three well known figures will appear on a portrait bench at North Cross to celebrate Plymouth's history and culture.

Anyone in the city can vote for the heroes they would like to see depicted on the new piece of art.

The bench is part of a nationwide Sustrans project, but will be unique to Plymouth. It will feature a simple bench with three life-size characters chosen by the local community to represent Plymouth's history and culture.

Organisers who set up an exhibition at North Cross on Friday said they had had a good response from the thousands of commuters and shoppers.

Denise Clift, who works on the Plymotion project for Plymouth City Council, said passers by agreed that the area needed to be overhauled.

Although the vote was private, many people had said they were voting for Tom Daley, servicemen and women and Lady Astor, she said.

The bench will be sited in the central open area of North Cross, where the four underpasses meet, as part of a makeover to the walking and cycling facilities there.

Chris Bennett from Plymouth transport and highways said the plan was to remove the railings which were intended to separate pedestrians and cyclists.

He said few people obeyed the signs anyway. The bench would slow the cyclists and allow the area to work as a shared space.

Work will start next Spring.

Jim Woffenden from Sustrans said: "North Cross is the crossroads of the whole Plymouth cycling scheme."

A shortlist of 13 names has been drawn up for the Plymouth portrait bench. They are:

Sir Joshua Reynolds – artist and founding President of the Royal Academy in London.

Robert Lenkiewicz – one of the South West's most celebrated artists of modern time

Beryl Cooke – artist of distinctive, humorous paintings full of flamboyant characters

Lady Astor – Plymouth's 'first lady' of politics, voted MP for Sutton in 1919

Scott of the Antarctic – Royal Navy officer and Antarctic explorer

Dawn French – actress, writer and comedienne

William Miller – first black councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Plymouth

Tom Daley – 2009 World Diving Champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – physician and writer of Sherlock Holmes stories

William Cookworthy – Britain's first porcelain producer

Charles Darwin – naturalist and founder of the theory of evolution

Pocahontas – native American princess who arrived in Plymouth as the wife of Englishman John Rolfe

Plymouth servicemen and women – in recognition of those who have overcome horrific injuries to become an inspiration to others

To vote for your three favourite local heroes, email plymotion@plymouth.gov.uk or send it to: Portrait bench vote, Transport and Infrastructure, Floor 10, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2AA.

Voting closes on Friday November 30.

You can also vote on this page, and your choice will be counted by Sustrans.