More than 120 people get sneak peek of Hartlepool's new soldier statue by famed North-East sculptor Ray Lonsdale

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The statue of a Boer War soldier was recently completed by famed North East sculptor Ray Lonsdale.

Named “Pete”, it is due to be installed in the town’s Ward Jackson Park in September on top of the existing Boer War Memorial plinth.

A £25,000 campaign to create and fund the making of the statue was led by Hartlepool businessman Stephen Close, who started the appeal six years ago.

The new Ray Lonsdale Boer War statue on display on Saturday, with Stephen Close (left) who organised the funding for the project, and 1st Battalion Durham Light Infantry Veterans Brian Coward and Frank Peers (right).

It went on public display for the first time at the weekend when people were invited to see it up close and have their photo taken with it.

Dozens of people dropped into the Salvation Army Citadel, in Durham Street, on the Headland, on Saturday and Sunday for the sneak peek.

Stephen said it was a great weekend with over 120 people visiting.

Durham Light Infantry veterans Frank Peers and Brian Coward, who raised a significant amount of money for the appeal over more than five years, also attended the event.

Stephen said: “Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit and for your enthusiasm, we will gather again in September for the installation.”

The statue, which consists of more than 2,500 small, cut, shaped and welded pieces of corten steel, is now going back up the A19 to Ray’s yard to weather for 10 weeks.

It is a replacement for Ward Jackson Park’s original statue which banished more than 50 years ago and was believed to have been stolen for scrap.