Shrewsbury shoppers drawn to Dewi the dragon

Christmas shoppers in Shrewsbury could hardly believe their eyes when a huge Welsh dragon appeared in the town centre today, bringing traffic to a halt.

The eye-catching 16ft long, 11ft high and 10ft wide metal dragon was carried on a transporter through the streets of Shrewsbury to promote tourism in Mid Wales.

Caravan dealership Salop Leisure, which has sales centres at Emstrey, Shrewsbury, Machynlleth in Mid Wales and Stourport, has commissioned the impressive dragon, named Dewi, from Marche Studios at Ford, near Shrewsbury.

Dewi will be given a temporary home at Salop Leisure's headquarters before moving to its permanent home on the Cambrian Coast next spring.

Its role will be to guard the entrance to the five-star Min-y-Don Holiday Home and Touring Park, which nestles below the famous Harlech Castle.

The dragon took 732 hours to be crafted and comprises 2,500 different sized scales welded on to a frame.

The scales, cut from 78 square metres of sheet metal, have been polished and given 12 coats of lacquer.

Dewi's creator is metal artist Tony "Fred" Peacock, who was assisted by Ashley Bissell.

"It's the longest and most complicated steel sculpture that we've ever done and we are very proud of the result," said Bill Hunt, managing director of Marche Studios.

Salop Leisure's chairman Tony Bywater said he was similarly impressed with the work. "He's an exact imitation of a Welsh dragon and he's going to look fantastic in his new home, set against the backdrop of Harlech Castle, which is a World Heritage site," he said.

"The skilled artist who created him has done a brilliant job."