Sharks bask in the limelight at Ironwork Centre

The new shark sculptures being created will offer school children and visitors alike a double measure of reflection and inspiration over rubber recycling and wildlife conservation.

For the sculptures are made from old scrap rubber car tyres.

Centre chairman, Clive Knowles, said: "We will be using these sculptures to further intensify our campaign to educate and inspire the future school and visitors trips, to see what’s achievable from reusing the UK’s waste and how important it is to protect the worlds wildlife.

"Tyres are one of the worst items to recycle, difficult to break down and separate their individual components. The UK currently produces 40 million waste tyres a year, more innovative ideas over how to use this colossal volume of waste are needed.

"The children of today will be tomorrow’s inventors and environmentalists that will pressure for the necessary changes to be made, to see the human race move faster and faster towards becoming more considerate custodians over occupying our fragile planet."

The children will learn how sharks are endangered by human activity. Some of those most endangered at the Great White, the Whale Shark, Dusky Shark, Basking Shark and Hammerhead Shark.

"We intend to use our artistic platform to deliver more and more messages and visual representations over how we all need to care for the worlds wildlife and offer suggestions and inspire ideas over how this might be achieved."