Finishing touches for Sculpture in the City

A seven-metre high Damien Hirst sculpture has been unveiled in central London in a bid to challenge society's perception of disability.

The work, called 'Charity', has been installed as part of the annual 'Sculpture in the City' exhibition.

But Hirst's version depicts the charity box as worn and vandalised, with a crowbar laying next to the girl and her empty collection tin, in a bid to question society's historical tradition of representing charity as a pitiful image.

The disability charity, 'Scope', stopped using the boxes in the 1980s in favour of using more positive images of disabled people.

"We hope that this sculpture will encourage conversations about disability amongst people in our capital," Scope's fundraising director Alan Gosschalk said.

"This artwork highlights an outdated vision of charity and disability. However, while attitudes to disabled people have improved in this time, many people still feel awkward about disability."

It has been installed next to St Helen's church, opposite the iconic Gherkin building.

The 2015 City of London's Sculpture in the City exhibition formally gets underway on Thursday.