Outrage over hanging children art

Three ghoulish sculptures of boys hanging limply by nooses from a tree, in a busy square, have caused outrage in Milan.

Many residents of the fashionable city were upset by the life-sized dummies, while politicians condemned them as sick.

'It's horrendous,' said one resident, called Paola. 'Look how it's given me goosebumps.'

Passer-by Alessandra Pieroni said: 'Even if it's for a good reason, I find it frightening, especially for a child or sensitive person.' City councillor Stefano Di Martino called the work 'a way of letting out people's sick fantasies'.

The artist, Italian Maurizio Cattelan, defended his work, calling the boys 'almost angelic' and claiming he was warning about childhood and violence.

Mr Cattelan is no stranger to controversy. His other sculptures include a kneeling Adolf Hitler and a likeness of Pope John Paul with a meteorite on top of him.