PLOG, Plog's Mog and a paintbrush hit town on July 1, 1960. And when Plog retired to bed, Lincoln had been painted – not the traditional red, but in white.

Nine-feet tall, with only one foot, Plog marched through the centre of Lincoln, somehow eluding the night-beat policemen. Slogans and drawings were painted on walls and shop-windows – until Plog finally committed suicide by stepping off Pelham Bridge on to the railway track below.

Who, or what, was this character Plog? Looking at the clues left behind:

"Plog sells coffee" – a notice in the window of a High Street café said so. "Plog likes chips" – declared a poster in Waterside fish restaurant.

This queer character, who walked by night, also had a sense of humour. For a time he was, "The only man on the Island" – the island being the traffic island north of the Stonebow at the end of Silver Street.

And so Plog moved on. Plog's Mog trailed behind until they reached a High Street café and then into St Mary's Street, happily wielding a paint brush, marched Plog. After sleeping below Pelham Bridge, he awoke to continue to the summit of the bridge and a tell-tale footprint on the railings indicated our visitor's fate.

Lincoln's Lion in the Arboretum did not escape the attentions of Plog – or one of Plog's helpers as, gaily painted in orange stripes, the lion looked something like a tiger.

Plog was the theme of what was fast becoming recognised in towns all over the country as the student treatment.

And Plog, in this case, was the name chosen by Lincoln's students – those from the Diocesan Training College – to characterise their night on the town.