A BELGRADE statue celebrating Yuri Gagarin has been removed after less than a week following a barrage of criticisms and complaints.

The tribute to the first person in space was placed on top of a plinth in the Serbian capital last week, but many critics lost their head over the “undersized” bust.

It was removed quickly and will be replaced by a new bust commissioned by Belgrade city manager Goran Vesic who said neither he nor state authorities had any idea of the design.