Only one foot to remain after Gulliver's travails

• The years, the weather and hours of playtime have taken their toll on Gulliver, who is now a shadow of his former self. Most of the sculpture is to be removed

Gulliver the Gentle Giant was created for Craigmillar by murderer-turned-artist Jimmy Boyle.

But on April Fool's Day, he will meet his maker when he is forced out to make way for a flood prevention scheme.

All that can be safely left behind is his left foot - although his entire body is to be preserved in cyberspace under plans to digitally scan the 100ft-long sculpture, which was unveiled by funnyman Billy Connolly in 1976.

However, local youngsters will be able to seize a souvenir of the crumbling concrete work of art as council chiefs plan to leave the remains behind once it is dismantled with the help of a giant crane this weekend.

The sculpture, designed by Boyle when he was behind bars in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, quickly became a favourite play area for children in the 1970s, but it has long since fallen into disrepair. Plans for its removal were announced by the council five years ago to accommodate a new water course that has to be built as part of a flood prevention scheme for the Niddrie Burn.

The council insists it had no option but to remove Gulliver, but it has earmarked 30,000 for a new piece of public art for the area, which is in the midst of a 15-year, 200 million regeneration programme.

Laser scanning techniques, which have previously been used to document the likes of Rosslyn Chapel and neolithic sites in Orkney, will be deployed to ensure every inch of the sculpture is properly documented.

A council spokeswoman said: "The monument is in a very poor state of repair, so it is not possible to relocate it elsewhere, although the contractors will take care to retain whatever elements of the statue they can.

"Before its removal, a specialist laser survey will be taken of the monument so that future generations from the Craigmillar community and beyond can view it in detail online.

"The preliminary results of this survey will be available for members of the public to look at on a planned open day on Saturday, 16 April, where they will also be offered tours of recent archaeological discoveries made on the site, including the remains of an 18th-century icehouse belonging to Niddrie Marischal House."

John Lawson, the council's archaeologist, said: "Using laser technology to record a piece of public artwork is not something archaeologists get to do every day, but in this case we felt it was important for the local community to undertake this extra step before the statue is dismantled. "We're pleased that the community will be able to enjoy the Gulliver monument even after these essential works have been carried out."Local councillor Maureen Child said: "It is a bit of a shame that Gulliver has to go but if you get up close to him you will see that he is not a thing of beauty and looks pretty run-down. It is good that at least one of his feet will be left behind."

Life of crime - and culture

JIMMY Boyle was born in 1944 and grew up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.

He was involved in crime from an early age, being sent to approved schools and borstal before ending up in prison. He was charged with murder three times. He stood trial twice in 1965. The first time, he was found not guilty; the second time, the charges were dropped. However, in 1967 he was sentenced to 15 years after being found guilty of murdering William Rooney, although he still protests his innocence.

He was released from jail in 1982 and has since made his name as a sculptor, novelist and playwright.