Middle Finger BUSH: Richard Jackson Ordered To Remove Topiary Shrubbery In England

A gardener in England has been flipping the bird to passers-by for eight years with a topiary bush shaped like an extended middle finger.

Now, the town council wants it removed after Richard Jackson's neighbor in Tamsworth complained that it was offensive.

But Jackson, 53, refuses to comply with the edict under any circumstances, even though he told ITV.com that he never meant to offend anyone.

"Well, I am very sorry if I have upset anybody," he said. "I wouldn't want to upset anybody. It wasn't done for that. It was done in a very light-hearted way."

But while Jackson is sorry if he's offended anyone, that doesn't mean he's backing down.

"I don't intend to change it though -- I’m not a trouble maker and I don’t want to offend anyone, but at the same time it’s been here for eight years and I don’t see why I should have anybody telling me what to change in my garden," he told The Daily Mail.

Jackson said a local policeman asked him to consider making alterations, but says he won't.

"If everybody else likes it and there’s only one complaint in eight years then I don’t think it is a public offense, as the majority aren't offended," he told The Daily Mail.

Jackson's middle finger bush has become somewhat of a cause celebre in Tamsworth, and has inspired other locals to start up a "Save The Bush" campaign, The Telegraph reported.

GALLERY: FAR OUT PHOTOS