AN arts project that was vandalised last year will be officially opened today by renowned sculptor Philip Jackson.

The Sea Life Bench project in Swanage was started in 2018, with pupils from The Swanage School working alongside the Burngate Stone Carving Centre to create designs on a series of stone panels in the shape of a wave.

Artist Carlotta Barrow led the initiative.

However, two of the stones were vandalised in July, last year, and initially it was feared they'd been damaged beyond repair.

Thankfully, the centre's stone mason was able to mend them.

Mr Jackson, whose sculptures include Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, RAF Bomber Command Memorial also in London, and a statue in memory of the Queen Mother in Poundbury, Dorchester, is president of the Purbeck Art Weeks (PAW) festival.

PAW spokesman Charlotte Heath said: "We are delighted that Philip Jackson, PAW’s President, is coming to visit PAW and has agreed to open this.

"The completed bench has now been installed in the garden on the Southwest Coast Path in Swanage overlooking the Swanage Sailing Club and pier - and the inauguration stone was put in place a couple of weeks ago. The project was kindly sponsored by Wessex Water, AONB, PAW Festival, Red Orb Sculptors, Lovells Quarry who donated the stone, and the Albion Quarry who donated the practice stone.

"We think this is an important contribution to keeping stone carving skills alive in Swanage and in the next generation.

"In fact one of the young carvers, Martha Styants, also won a PAW bursary to help her develop her stone carving skills as a result of this project."