A fantastic new sculpture is soon to be built in Birchwood.

At present this sculpture is still in the process of manufacture in a warehouse named Reynolds House.

Here a team of skilled workmen are working together to create the figures and structure of the statue.

A small studio is set aside in which pupils of Birchwood High School will be able to contribute to the making of the statue.

They will be carrying out a range of projects, including assisting artist Stephen Broadbent and his team with the shaping of the structure, and taking photographs along with Guy Woodland, which may later be published in a book showing the making of the statue.

Eight tonnes of steel was brought into the workshop earlier this month so the initial phase of attaching wooden sections to the steel could begin.

These wooden sections have been encased in foam to create the shape of the statue and will later be surrounded in a hi-tech plastic called GRP.

A small scale model of the statue has been completed and will assist the team in creating the finished product.

A number of sections of the statue, such as the head, have already been created using wood and foam so these will be some of the first to fit on to the steel.

Small access panels will be situated in the upper section of the statue and these will contain equipment, from telecommunications firm Hutchison, for its third-generation mobile phone network.

This will be used as the radio mast by Hutchison, which they will maintain - they have agreed to do this and will also help to maintain the remainder of the statue.

The statue has made good progress and even though there was a slight delay with the delivery of the steel to the warehouse Stephen is still hoping that the statue will be completed by the end of September.