A bid by late-night hooligans to set Knaresborough's Millennium showpiece on fire was foiled by a vigilant caretaker.

The ten-foot high model, showing a knight on his horse, attracted the vandals because it is made of willow branches.

The horse and rider took up position outside Knaresborough House only three weeks ago. It has already become an attraction for townspeople and tourists.

But a posse of hooligans were spotted trying to set fire to it using cigarette lighters late on Saturday, by Jeff Coughlin, caretaker at Knaresborough House. The culprits bolted, leaving the knight intact, after realising they had been spotted.

Mr Coughlin said: "When the horse was put up, people were saying it would not last long, and become a target for vandals. But people who want to do this sort of thing are so mindless."

In a bid to prevent further arson attempts, the horse may be sprayed with a fire retardant substance. Local residents believe recent heavy downpours seeping into the willow also helped to thwart the vandals' attack.

The knight and his charger were invited to stand guard over the High Street by Knaresborough in Bloom Committee as part of its Millennium project.

Committee chairman and three times Mayor of Knaresborough, Eileen Ferguson, said: "There has been such a positive response to this idea that it would be just awful if mindless people destroyed it. There is no doubt the vast majority of people in the town think it's absolutely fantastic. It has already become a landmark and I'm very sorry to hear about this.

"This is the one thing we have been bothered about and is why I did not want it to go up in the more remote Castle Yard," she said. In a separate incident, other youths were spotted by a neighbour trying to climb and sit astride the horse, but failed.

One suggestion being made is that the horse could be highlighted by a permanent spotlight. The project was given a major grant from the Millennium Festival Awards for All and has been created by Emma Stothard, a willow sculptor from Whitby.