What you can do with 2,576 sheets of paper if you have 60 hours to spare

A sixth form student from Chelmsford has used his origami skills to create an almost life-size swan from thousands of pieces of paper.

David Eastham has been studying the historic Japanese art for years and decided to make the swan as part of his AS levels.

It took 2,576 sheets of A5 paper and 60 hours of folding. The effort put into constructing a half a metre tall origami swan was immense.

David, a student at Moulsham High School in Chelmsford, made the wedding centerpiece as part of his AS level.

Given the amount of time it's taken, he's just glad it's all over: "I like it, I don't think I'll ever make one again, whatever amount you offer me because it was such a long time coming. 50-60 hours of just folding the same unit over and over again, but I'm happy with how it turned out."

David has been practicing origami for more than 10 years.

He was inspired after some Japanese students came to his school on an exchange.

The swan is on display at Hobbycraft in Chelmsford where it will eventually be auctioned off for charity.