Polar bears in climate awareness

The sculpture was created by 15 artists

A 16ft (5m) sculpture of a polar bear and cub stranded on an iceberg has been pulled along the Thames to raise awareness of climate change.

The structure was launched in Greenwich, south-east London, before being pulled by a tug to Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.

The stunt is to highlight the plight of the Arctic mammal which is facing extinction due to global warming.

A team of 15 artists spent two months working on the 1.5 tonne sculpture.

Wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough said: "The melting of the polar bears' sea ice habitat is one of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time.

"We need to do what we can to protect the world's largest land carnivores from extinction."

The sculpture will travel to other cities around the UK, including Birmingham and Glasgow.

The work has been commissioned by Eden, a new digital television channel devoted to natural history programming.