County artist creates 8ft Fred

A massive statue of steeplejack Fred Dibnah has been crafted by a Shropshire artist to stand in the centre of the star's home town of Bolton. Shrewsbury-based Jane Robbins won the commission for the statue.

It will soon be set in bronze and will eventually show Fred holding a lightning conductor on one of his trademark chimneys.

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Now Jane, who lives in Church Stretton and works out of a studio in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, has finished crafting an 8ft tall clay statue of Fred.

It will be taken from her studio in pieces on Monday, before a lighter wax replica is created and cast in bronze at Castle Fine Art Gallery, near Oswestry.

A crane will load the finished statue on to the back of a lorry before it is taken to Bolton to take pride of place on a six-foot-high plinth in the town.

Jane, 45, whose dream is to create a statue of Shrewsbury Town hero Arthur Rowley, said: "It's always sad when you come to the end of a project because you live and breathe their mannerisms and face.

"It's been great and I will miss that huge figure in my studio."

She used a wealth of pictures of Fred to create a sculpture that people would recognise instantly.

"I went through lots of references and was lucky that there are a lot of pictures of him," she said.

"I think people would recognise him when he was in his 60s."

Artist Jane Robbins works on her sculpture of Fred Dibnah.

Steeplejack Fred Dibnah.

Jane Robbins busy at work in her studio.

Jane puts the finishing touches to her work.

The finished statue will stand 8ft tall.

"I will miss that huge figure in my studio," says Jane.