A 'MANNEQUIN' in Cambridge left one young shopper flat on his back in shock and others jumping out of their skins as they took selfies with the 'dummy'.
The Dickie Mackay model stands outside Mackays of Cambridge hardware store in East Road and has become a popular character in the city. But he was replaced by a real-life double, with some hilarious results. The famous mannequin was swapped with Mannequin Man, a professional street performer.
Neil Mackay, joint owner of the shop, said: "Recently we had Dickie doing the route of the Tour de France, filmed it and put it on You-Tube and then we were contacted by Mannequin Man who impersonates a mannequin for a living in London. "He wanted to meet us and came to the shop and offered to show what he could do. He is remarkable. He took about an hour to put on the latex mask and was totally convincing. He looked very like Dickie. "I went out and asked a few people I thought would be up for it to take part in a bit of social media and see if they would stand by the mannequin. It was hilarious. The father of the young man who fell on his back was filming it and couldn't stop laughing. "Dickie now has a loyal following on social media, which we are on a steep learning curve about, but its great fun. We would like to thank all the members of the public who took part in making the video."
Mannequin Man has appeared on Louie Spence's Showbusiness and Harry Hill's TV Burp. He wrote on his blog: "Dickie the mannequin has been a regular fixture, standing outside Mackays of Cambridge in all weathers for many years now Recently he has also become a Twitter phenomenon, as passers-by are asked to tweet selfies with Dickie. "Today however, the normally stoic mannequin, with not much to say for himself, turned the tables on the public while they had their photos taken with him, with amusing results.
"Had a great day, as Dickie, standing outside Mackays in Cambridge. Great reactions from the public, and loads of great reactions caught on video."
by raymond.brown @cambridge-news.co.uk