New wood sculpture completed at Hartlepool's Burn Valley Park

Completed tree sculptures in Burn Valley in Hartlepool. Pictures by Tom Collins.

The statue, which is in two parts, was made by sculptor Tom Craggs over a period of three weeks.

The first section, showing a fairy, was completed first, before Tom added a Peter Pan figure to the other section.

Tom Craggs admires his handiwork. Picture by Tom Collins.

The Peter Pan addition was a nod to the history of the park, with a similar statue having been in place in the past.

The new sculpture was inspired by that, and Tom, from Consett, was pleased with the final look.

He said: “It took about three weeks to do, and I’m delighted with the final product.

“The project went very well and it was a pleasure to be asked to do it.

“The reaction from the public has been great.”

The sculpture was secured thanks to funding from supermarket giant Tesco as part of major improvement work at the park.

It was funded by the sale of carrier bags at the supermarket, with the Friends of Hartlepool Wild Green Spaces behind the work.

The chairman of the group, Anne Brown, said before the work was completed: “The statue project is part of an improvement programme in the Burn Valley.

Tom Craggs hard at work. Picture by Tom Collins.

“We got £12,000 from Tesco’s Bags of Help fund – I think it was the last of such big donations.

“That paid for 15,000 bulbs which we hand-planted in the park and about 3,000 more autumn bulbs that were mechanically planted by the borough council, but which we will pay for.

“That is how we work – we raise the money where we can and then put it back into the various parks around the town.”

Sculptor Tom is enterely self-taught, and has been producing wood sculptures for the last 10 years.