Horse sculpture becomes permanent Wells attraction after locals raise £15,000 to buy it
A horse sculpture is to become a permanent fixture in a Norfolk town after local residents raised £15,000 to buy it.
'The Lifeboat Horse' sculpture by artist Rachael Long was initially only meant to be a temporary installation, but it proved so popular that people in Wells-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast clubbed together to keep it.
The 10ft (3m) sculpture, which is made from steel bars and old whisky barrels, is a tribute to horses that used to pull the town's lifeboat in the 1800s.
The horse's permanent home will be on the sand in the town's harbour and every day it will become visible at low tide.
It will then be submerged again when the tide comes in.
Locals were so keen to keep the sculpture in the town that children even donated their pocket money to the cause.
It will remain on display until the autumn, before it is put into storage for the winter to protect it.
The horse was lifted into its new permanent home on Monday evening.
"It's magnificent and very skilful," Sarah Whittley from the Pinkfoot Gallery said.
"It was amazing to see the staff of the port of Wells doing the job. We were a bit nervous because it was a huge, heavy thing swinging around on a crane and the tide was coming in, and they had to quickly stabilise it into the sand.
"So, it was a bit edgy, but it did get a big round of applause when it was finished."