A PROJECT by the sculptor Antony Gormley for members of the public to pose on the vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square has been inundated by some 10,000 applications in its first week.

The scheme is already four times oversubscribed with more than five weeks to go before the closing date.

Requests have been flooding in since Tuesday from, among others, anti-war protesters, campaigners against climate change and domestic abuse — and those wanting to play Scalextric or simply take off their clothes.

Gormley’s project will see a different person occupy the plinth for an hour each, 24 hours a day for 100 days, and do as they please. The installation, called One and Other, starts in July.

Gormley, creator of the Angel of the North, may have beaten off the likes of Tracey Emin and Anish Kapoor to be awarded the commission, but that has not stopped the critics. Michael Daley, director of the campaign group ArtWatch UK, dismissed it as “dotty and intellectually bankrupt”.

John Walker, head of planning at Westminster city council, warned last week that permission for the project could not be assumed.

“We have serious concerns that the organisers are encouraging people to apply to take part when, like any other planning application, it needs to be properly considered,” he said. “People who apply must be very clear that at this stage this proposed work is an aspiration, not a done deal.”

The public is rising to Gormley’s challenge. “I would be very upset if somebody didn’t take their clothes off,” the sculptor has said — and Rachel Elliott, 27, a glass artist from Edinburgh, plans to deliver.

“I’m planning on making some glass beads with my blowtorch whilst I’m up there, although, as a former life model, I’d like to perform naked. It depends what time slot I’m given.

“I’m also a special constable so I’m fully aware of the laws on public exposure.”

Another potential semi-nudist, if selected, is Mark Ashworth, 42, from Colchester, Essex. “I was rather worried by suggestions it might become a talent show, so I’m going to do the opposite of dancing and singing — I’m going to strike the same pose as The Thinker \,” he said. “I’ll get as close to the original in dress terms, although I don’t quite have the physique of your typical Greek sculpture.”

There has been concern that performers could attract the sort of crowds that flocked to mock the American David Blaine when he suspended himself above the Thames in a transparent box for 44 days in 2003.

For Gormley’s project, the Metropolitan police are “planning a very visible observation”, a spokeswoman said. “The square is private property — owned by the Greater London Authority — so we’ll only intervene if asked or to prevent a breach of the peace.”

Helen Marriage, director of the arts production company Artichoke, which is managing the event, said participants would not be allowed to do anything illegal. “Apart from that, anything goes,” she said.

Gormley plans to draw names at random, filtering only to ensure an equal mix of men and women, a fair spread of ethnic minorities and tightly defined regional quotas.

Among applicants determined to keep their clothes on is Helen Thomas, 31, from Bordon, Hampshire, who plans to dress up as a cat and recite nursery rhymes.

“I’m a nursery teacher so I’m aiming the poems at kids,” she said. “But if I’m given a slot after midnight, there will always be a few drunks around who fancy some poetry.”

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