Moor Park has received two new works of art made by a prestigious wood carver.

Mick Burns has been a chainsaw carver for more than 25 years.

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He has designed two new benches to be placed in the play area, one of a giant lizard and another that mirrors the observatory and water features found in the area.

Mick said:  “The intention is to put these in the children’s play area as a little bit of interesting furniture other than just the play equipment.”

The artist uses a range of chainsaws to create his sculptures.

The main work is done by a power saw reaching 120cc and the finer details are then added with a carving saw and sanders.

Mick has had to change his approach to this project as he only had two days in which to complete it.

He said: “I’ll look at the log and roughly work out what I might be able to get into it.  Because I have to work quite quickly, I don’t really get a chance to do any sketches or proposals.

“I’m sketching on the log as I go along so it’s like sketching with a chainsaw.”

Mick has worked in the city before.  He created a bench in Haslam Park and carved a tree in Ashton Park and is hopeful that the new masterpieces will go down well with the public.

“I’m hoping that people will appreciate the novelty of them and I hope that they’ll last a while too,” he added.