YOU get the distinct feeling you are being watched when you walk past Graeme Hopper's latest work.

The giant spiders and other insects, some of the creations at his workshop in Hunwick, County Durham, are so animated they look as if they are about to spring to life.

The talented iron sculptor has been commissioned to create the metal bugs on poles to act as footpath markers around Summerhill Park, in Hartlepool.

It is the latest in a line of community projects the in-demand artist has been asked to undertake in the North-East.

Other major commissions include his piece to depict the community spirit in mining. The giant steel men pushing pieces of coal are being created to grace the riverside footpaths below the Stadium of Light, in Sunderland.

Graeme, 40, a trained blacksmith, often has school children, villagers and groups visiting his workshop to help with the design of projects for their communities.

"Most people think of iron work as a wrought iron gate and find it hard to imagine it in art form," he said.

"When people get involved with their ideas they really feel part of the work and that's what I enjoy about it. I think public art is going from strength to strength."

Graeme Hopper's work can be seen in the grounds of Crook Hall, in Durham, until the end of August.