WITH the Royal Wedding just weeks away, Bournemouth artist and sculptor Kim Leachman has been hard at work creating a special gift for the happy couple.

He is crafting a piece depicting Prince William as a two-feet high winged, horned gargoyle and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton as a siren. And on the plinth, he has inscribed Amor Verus, Latin for true love.

Kim’s previous works have included gargoyles of the Top Gear presenters as Cerberus, the three-headed dog of Greek mythology; model and businesswoman Katie Price; Simon Cowell; TV’s Loose Women; and gnomes of Jedward and Lady Gaga.

“For a bit of fun, I thought I would have a go at doing His Royal Highness,” he explained.

“With everybody, I think it’s the nose that first captures my imagination, then he’s got those big teeth and the slightly receding hairline. Kate is a really pretty girl – I couldn’t make her too unattractive, but in the final gargoyle, she has got horns.”

Royalist Kim, 56, of Holdenhurst Village, plans to send the finished piece to Buckingham Palace as a wedding gift.

“I think William and Kate have both got a sense of humour. I hope they will put it in the nursery,” he said.

His other current work is of Take That. “I’m not a particular fan – I’ve done a Gobby Williams before,” he admitted. “They will be formed into a hydra, a five-headed serpent with poisonous breath. It’s got to have a bit of evilness about it, but it’s all in the best possible taste.”

Former Daily Echo cartoonist and illustrator Kim studies pictures of celebrities on the internet and in magazines looking for inspiration.

He first models his figures in Plasticine, then makes latex moulds and fills them with polyester resin.

He was recently commissioned by students at a Canadian college student body to supply one of his creations as a retirement gift in the likeness of the retiring principal. Last year, he designed the Jedward Gnomes to celebrate the launch of Rowntrees Randoms.

Kim plans to use the William and Kate mould one more time. He wants to put all his celebrity figures on display over Easter, then auction them online in aid of the Steve Bernard Foundation, named after a local student who was killed in a car crash in 2005.

The charity has raised more than £100,000 for local sporting projects.