Huge 60-foot robot ‘abandoned’ at pop star’s old mansion

By Tom Bevan

A giant robot that took center stage at Wembley during a Take That tour has been spooking walkers after being abandoned at Robbie Williams' old mansion.

The 60-foot mechanical man, described as a "creepy fella" by one local resident, has been spotted peering out from the greenery in a Wiltshire village — after being left behind when Robbie sold his sprawling pad many years ago.

The giant animatronic man, nicknamed Om, was the centerpiece of Take That's extravagant £15 million ($20 million) stage set during the band's 2011 Progress Live tour.

It has now been pictured at the site and "freaking out" local residents in the village of Compton Bassett near Calne.

Kristina Bowen spotted it as she was driving home to Calne.

Bowen 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 among the trees, looking down into the field."

Other locals took to a local Facebook group to report they had also been caught off guard by the robot.

Sarah Spencer said: "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."

Liz Neve, posted that the first time she saw it she also "wondered" if she had imagined it.

"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 wrote.

"[But I was concerned that the locals might be building up to a re-enactment of the Wicker Man."

Other locals described it as "spooky" and thought they were "seeing things."

The seven-bedroom mansion in the village and surrounding 71-acre land was bought by Robbie in 2008 for roughly £8.1 million ($10.9 million).

He lived in it throughout 2009 before moving back to L.A. and later resold it.

Following the 2011 sellout tour, the first time the group had toured as a five since 1995, it is thought Om was bagged by Robbie Williams.

It was designed to lower band members onto the stage on its giant palms.

It was thought to be destined for his home in L.A. but has ended up among the trees in the Wiltshire home.