BRUNEL has made a triumphant return to Swindon town centre.

The eight-foot statue of iconic railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel is back on his pedestal in Havelock Square, eight months after he was removed due to construction work.

He now stands on a newly built granite platform which will allow shoppers to rest their legs and take in a prime view of the statue at the same time.

Brunel's return also means that work in Havelock Square is finally nearing completion after re-development kicked off in January.

The £850,000 re-design includes installing new benches to match those in the rest of the town centre, the planting of eight acacia trees, and LED lights in the tree canopies.

The monument to the great man was unveiled to the town in 1971. As well as saluting the town’s railway roots the multi-tasking statue was previously used to deter vandals hanging round the square by playing soothing classical music.

Jane Stewart, deputy general manager of The Brunel Centre said she was delighted to see Brunel back surveying his town centre kingdom.

"It's really great to see Isambard Kingdom Brunel back on the pedestal where he so rightly deserves to be,” she said.

“Swindon owes so much to this great man. We've really missed his statue whilst the Havelock Square improvements works have been going on. He's now facing a different direction and is looking towards the railway works, so for us it's really nice to be able to see his face, and his determined expression, as opposed to the back of his head.

“The area is looking really nice and is a great improvement for the town centre."