A statue of Donald Trump designed to highlight the dangers of populism has been burned to the ground in Slovenia after agitating locals authorities.

The towering 26-foot figure showed the US president, complete with his trademark blonde hair hair, red tie and blue suit, raising his arm high in the air with a clenched fist in a pose reminiscent of the statue of liberty.

And while on weekdays the likeness would remain a relatively calm representation of the 73-year-old, on weekends its closed mouth would, powered by a mechanism inside the sculpture, give way to a row of jagged, shark-like teeth.

However authorities have said they are now looking for an arsonist responsible for torching the artwork, which was found engulfed in flames on 9 January.

Milan Balazic, the mayor of Moravce, said that unknown arsonists burned it – adding that the act was a "symbol of intolerance toward artistic projects in our society."

Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia Show all 5 1 /5 Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia A wooden statue of Melania Trump has been erected in the first lady’s home country of Slovenia REUTERS Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia The conceptual statue depicts Ms Trump standing in the blue outfit she wore to her husband’s inauguration REUTERS Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia The monument is set in the fields near the town of Sevnica REUTERS Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia Locals have complained that the wooden sculpture does not look like Ms Trump at all AFP/Getty Images Melania Trump wooden statue prompts complaints in Slovenia The statue was commissioned by US artist Brade Downey and created by artist Ales Zupevc AFP/Getty Images

The work was designed by artist Tomaz Schlegl to be a commentary on populism – with the creator saying at the time “I designed the statue because people have forgotten what the Statue of Liberty stands for.

“I want to alert people to the rise of populism, and it would be difficult to find a bigger populist in this world than Donald Trump.”

However even at its inception it faced opposition from locals – with one driving his tractor into the statue before it was completed on private land in the village of Sela pri Kamniku.

After repeated threats to raze the figure to the ground from those who lived in the area, it was moved to the nearby Moravce – where it was ultimately set alight five months after its creation.

The depiction of the President in the eastern European country followed on from a statue Melania Trump – who was born Melanija Knavs in the country in 1970.