A sculpture commemorating a popular cat that lived at a train station is to be unveiled.

The statue of Jess, who lived at Andover station until his death in October 2023, will be unveiled at 3pm (BST) on Wednesday.

The creator is sculptor Amy Goodman, an artist based at Winchester University who was also commissioned by Test Valley Borough Council to create a statue of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Ticket seller Tracey Jones said she was “really excited” about the unveiling.

Originally thought to be female, staff named the black and white cat Jessica when she first visited the area 13 years ago after being abandoned by her owner.

He was cared for by the station staff until his death in October.

Described as “gentle” and “loving”, Jess spent most of his time wandering around the platforms, keeping passengers company as they waited for the next leg of their journey.

The statue will sit on the counter in the station’s ticket hall, where Jess spent “quite a lot” of time, Ms Jones said.

She said the purpose of the statue was to “have something that represents him.”

“Everyone misses him so much,” she said.

“No matter what kind of day you were having, you could see him and it automatically made the day better… everyone was devastated when he died.”

She said she really liked the sculpture created by Ms. Goodman.

“I really think it looks like him,” she said. “I hope other people like it as much as I do.”