A SCULPTURE of a coal miner has acquired a “wife”.

A 15ft-high sculpture of a coal miner, made of willow, oak, holly and blackthorn, was unveiled at Low Burnhall woods, near Durham City, in April.

Now a female sculpture, 15ft-high and made from wicker, has been installed elsewhere on the same site.

It was made by Ruth Thompson, of Sylvan Skills, and Anna Turnbull, of Biteabout Arts, over a two-week period.

The female figure is surrounded by hens and is carrying a basket of eggs.

Paul Bunton, from site owners the Woodland Trust, said: “The willow miner has attracted a lot of interest on site.

“We had the idea to create a wife for him at another location in the woodland to encourage visitors to explore the whole area and have fun trying to find her.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed developing Low Burnhall woods and I hope all the additional features we have added will tempt more people to visit this fantastic new woodland on the doorstep of Durham city centre.”

Since buying Low Burnhall in 2008, the Woodland Trust has planted more than 60,000 trees on site. It wants to plant another 80,000 during November and December. For further details, visit woodlandtrust.org.uk/low-burnhall