LAST YEAR IT WAS ROONEY, THIS YEAR IT'S BALOTELLI

2010                                                                                      2011

A 30ft statue of Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is to be set alight on Saturday as part of the Bonfire Night celebrations.

The huge effigy is the centrepiece of Edenbridge Bonfire Society’s annual display. The Italian striker became this year’s Bonfire pin-up boy after a bathroom-based fireworks extravaganza caused a serious fire in his Cheshire mansion.

Balotelli’s crazy antics provided some late inspiration for the organisers.

Bonfire society committee member Jon Mitchell said: “We were getting a bit worried because nobody had done anything silly enough to be our guy, then Balotelli set his house alight with fireworks.

“He’s now capitalising on his little disaster as he’s joined the campaign for firework safety so we fully support him on that.”