Oxford City Council spent years seeking to remove the 1986 sculpture by Bill Heine, an American who came to the UK to study law at the University of Oxford.

The house, including the sculpture, is now owned by his son, Mangus Hanson-Heine, who objected to the council’s designation of the landmark, The Guardian reports.

“Using the planning apparatus to preserve a historical symbol of planning law defiance is absurd on the face of it,” he said of the decision.

The fibreglass sculpture was made with an anti-war and anti-nuclear weapons message, which Mr Hanson-Heine said is relevant today in light of events in Ukraine.