A llen Scott has a varied list of patients under his care. Poet Andrew Marvell, slave abolitionist William Wilberforce, aviator Amy Johnson, Queen Victoria and many more rely on Allen to arrange their personal grooming and first aid needs. By way of thanks he usually receives a stony stare. For they are some of the many statues that decorate Hull, silently speaking volumes about the city's history.

Allen, a clerk of works at the City Council, took over a year ago as Hull's 'statue man', maintaining, cleaning and refurbishing about 20 situated on the public highways. Immobile and dignified as they are, the statues can get damaged by anything from pigeon droppings to air pollution. Or like their flesh and blood subjects, things start to droop or drop off. "They might need a new hand or nose making," says Allen.

"All the main statues - like Queen Victoria in Victoria Square - we try to clean regularly to stop the dirt and droppings biting into the surface." Queen Victoria, which was erected by public subscription in 1903 and still reigns imperiously over the public lavatories, is washed once a year with a water jet-wash.

Other local legends surround the impressive 1734 statue of King William III - 'King Billy'- portrayed on horseback. One story suggests the sculptor committed suicide when he realised he had not included stirrups. Eye-catchingly gilded and extensively restored a few years ago, this monarch gets a regular sponging down by hand.

The Fisherman's Memorial on the corner of the Boulevard and Hessle Road, meanwhile, has an unusual personal hygiene problem. Commemorating trawlermen killed in 1904 by Russians who mistook their Hull ship for a Japanese invader, this figure gets grimy because sticky secretions fall from overhanging lime trees. Allen is investigating whether the limes can be removed and replaced with more statue-friendly varieties. But, sadly, by far the biggest threat to these easy targets is vandalism.

Three consecutive Mondays last year the Holderness Road statue of James Stuart, a prominent local businessman and a founder of British Oil and Cake Mills, was found to have suffered some fresh indignity. "Graffiti painted with spray cans is one of our worst problems," said Allen. "To take paint off, you've first got to know what it is - whether it's cellulose-based, oil-based or whatever. Then you can start looking for a chemical to remove it. "But you've also got to take into account what the statue's made of. Bronze, marble, Portland stone, granite, you name it we've got it. They all react differently and you've got to be very careful."

Allen's job includes supervising the repair and maintenance of monuments such as Beverley Gate at the top of Whitefriargate and also making sure that rolls of honour, commemorative plaques and examples of contemporary public art are kept spick and span. Contemporary works in Allen's care include Centenary Banners, two stainless steel sculptures on the top of blue poles in the Market Place and the recently restored Fish Trail. "The more you go to clean or repair the statues, the more you get attached to them," he says.