Kelpies named national treasures - with a bit of help from Shropshire
Scotland's massive Kelpies sculpture, built with the expertise of a Shropshire firm, has been named a national treasure alongside Olympic hero Sir Chris Hoy.
The two icons were singled out to promote 20 years of the National Lottery as both received funding from the weekly draws.
The Kelpies, in Falkirk, received £25 million of National Lottery funding and opened in April.
The horse heads stand 100ft tall and weigh 300 tonnes and consist of steel sheets clamped together with 12,000 clamps provided by Telford-based Alcoa Fastenings.
Sir Chris, a five-time Olympic gold medallist, stressed how important lottery funding was to his career.
"The lottery, I've said it so many times, but it's had the single biggest impact on my career and pretty much every single sportsman and woman in the last 20 years," the former track cyclist said.
"I don't think you could find a single athlete who's performed at the highest level who hasn't benefited in some way, be it through coaching, grants, facilities or whatever.
"I was just so lucky when I came on board at just the right time."
