A MONUMENT unveiled to rock and roll legend Eddie Cochran in Chippenham, which manages to incorporate the title of one of his best known songs in its design, was an instant hit with fans on Sunday.

Three Steps To Heaven, recorded by Cochran in 1960, became a posthumous UK number 1 following his death in a car accident in Chippenham in April 1960.

And three steps now lead up to the memorial with each inscribed with lyrics from the song.

Cochran, the man behind Summertime Blues and C’mon Everybody, was killed in 1960 when the taxi carrying him from a show in Bristol, crashed en route to the airport in London, where he was to catch a flight back home to the United States.

More than 300 fans of the star congregated at Rowden Hill for the unveiling of the £5,000 memorial.

Its unveiling was timed to mark what would have been Cochran’s 80th birthday on October 3, with the ceremony drawing people, young and old, from all over the country to where he died on Rowden Hill.

Music fan Adam Gittings unveiled the memorial that was the work of a small team who have worked over the months to get this fitting tribute to the star.

Mr Gittings said: “I used to drive by and noticed a metal plaque that was situated on the grass area, but over time it became rather tired looking, so I set about a project to get a more suitable tribute.”

Former Chippenham tourism officer Angela Powell was delighted to see the finished memorial finally unveiled.

She said: “The original town’s memorial plaque had been there since 1990 but the concrete base was crumbling. It’s visited by thousands every year. People come from all over the world to visit the site. Now we have a suitable memorial for those paying tribute to Eddie Cochran.”