First glimpse of giant sculpture

Mr Hillier said watching the head being lifted was 'nerve wracking'

A giant sculpture of a human figure is taking shape outside a business park in County Durham.

Joseph Hillier has created the 53ft (16m) artwork "In Our Image" at Newton Aycliffe Business Park to celebrate the North East's industrial heritage.

On Monday, the sculpture's 1.5-tonne head was lifted onto a scaffold tower, where it will now be painted ahead of the unveiling at the end of May.

The artist has called it an "honest response to culture and place".

Gateshead-based Mr Hillier said: "It is a very exciting and nerve-wracking stage of the project, with the results of over 18 months' work dangling from the end of a crane arm.

"This is the only time the work will be seen in this way but it should give a strong impression of how the piece will be seen against the sky when it is in place."

The sculpture was originally commissioned by Sedgefield Borough Council for the business park which employs more than 8,000 people in the area.

Responsibility for the sculpture now falls to the county council, since it became Durham's single unitary authority.

Graham Wood, regeneration manager at Durham County Council, said the sculpture was "iconic", adding that it reflected the "progressive attitudes of County Durham".