The heirs of Edvard Eriksen, who sculpted the character from the Hans Christian Anderson story that inspired the Disney classic, argue the statue in Asaa is too similar.

Asaa artist Palle Moerk denies copying the Eriksen statue, saying he had seen it but his statue was based on “my own inspiration”.

Although the Copenhagen statue is bronze and the Asaa statue is granite, and they have distinct features, they have a similar posture, The New York Times reports.

Mikael Klitgaard, mayor of Asaa, reportedly said: “How else is she going to sit? She’s a mermaid. You can’t put her in a chair.”