London: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Thursday garlanded a recently installed statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the city of Leicester.

Brown surprised shoppers in Belgrave Road, a popular Indian shopping area of Leicester, when he dropped by to view the statue - believed to be only the second of Gandhi in Europe.

The British leader also became the first person to sign the new visitors' book at the imposing statue, which was sculpted by Gautam Pal and shipped from Kolkata before being unveiled by British home minister Alan Johnson June 26.

Brown was accompanied by Leicester East MP, Keith Vaz.

Vaz said: "When I heard that the prime minister was visiting Leicester I suggested he visited the statue. He told me he would try and drop by and see it. He thinks it's magnificent. He was at the unveiling of the Mandela statue (in Britain) two years ago."