A towering robot that once headlined Wembley Stadium during a Take That tour has been startling walkers after being left at Robbie Williams' former stately home. The 60ft mechanical figure, nicknamed Om, has been spotted peering through the trees in Compton Bassett, near Calne, leaving residents spooked.
Residents' Shock Encounters
Kristina Bowen noticed the robot while driving towards Calne. She said: "Something caught my eye. I thought: 'what's that?' I've driven up and down that road many times and have never spotted it before. So I stopped the car and there he was - this giant humanoid sitting in amongst the trees, looking down into the field."
Sarah Spencer described her surprise: "When I first saw it I had to turn around and go back to see what I thought I'd seen. It must be as big as a house. It caught me completely off guard but I was intrigued. I thought someone had built a Wicker Man."
Local Reactions
Liz Neve wrote on a local Facebook group that she too "wondered" if her eyes were deceiving her. "It's such a perfect location as it just seems to emerge from nowhere - and then as you drive alongside it, it seems to withdraw back into the foliage," she posted. "But I was concerned that the locals might be building up to a re-enactment of the Wicker Man."
Nearby residents have described the robot as "spooky", with some convinced they were "seeing things".
Background of the Robot
Om was the centrepiece of Take That's 2011 Progress Live tour, part of a lavish £15m stage production. The structure was engineered to lower band members onto the stage via its enormous palms.
Robbie Williams purchased the seven-bedroom mansion and its 71-acre estate in 2008 for approximately £8.1 million. He lived there during 2009 before moving to LA and later selling the property. After the tour, Om was believed to be heading to Robbie's LA residence but ended up among the trees at the Wiltshire estate.
