IT took nearly a year to create, but within a couple of hours, a stunning piece of landmark art had transformed a run-of-the-mill roundabout in the middle of an industrial area.

Scottish sculptor Andy Scott brought his specially commissioned galvanised steel statue of a gipsy cob horse to Belvedere on Sunday, where it was installed on the roundabout which links Bronze Age Way and Picardy Manorway.

Video by Jon Cheetham

The 6m high statue, called simply The Cob, towers over its surroundings and will be illuminated at night.

It was brought down in pieces from Mr Scott’s Glasgow studio last Thursday, stopping in Telford for the millions of steel pieces which make up the statue, to be galvanised.

With his crew, Mr Scott then set about putting the pieces together and bolting the statue on its concrete base.

In a completely impromtu touch, a man turned up with a cob in a trap and drove it round the roundabout several times, watching as the installation was in progress.

Mr Scott said: “It was splendid.

“He just turned up out of the blue as we were finishing. It was a nice touch.”

Mr Scott said he was “absolutely delighted” with the finished result.

He added: “It was a very physically demanding job and I put a lot of energy into it.

“I was inspired by seeing so many cobs grazing among the industrial buildings in Belvedere and I have tried to capture the essence of the horse.

“I like to think it will be well received by local people and they will look after it.”

The installation came at an unfortunate time for Mr Scott.

Another of his pieces, a 4m high statue called Man in Motion sited on another roundabout in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, was destroyed by a car the previous night.

The Cob was commissioned by Bexley Council as part of the £10.6 million Belvedere Green Links regeneration programme, after a public vote.

The programme was funded by the Homes & Communities Agency , European Regional Development Fund and the London Development Agency.

Bexley Council cabinet member for arts leisure and tourism, Councillor Peter Catterall said: "It's beautiful.

"This striking sculpture reflects the rich cultural heritage of the travelling communities in this area and the contribution they and their horses have made and are still making to the area.

"The horse is vivid, alive and proud and represents everything good about the area."

Saskia Delman, Bexley's arts manager added: “I am absolutely delighted with The Cob; it truly celebrates the heritage of Belvedere and creates a really strong local landmark to be proud of.

"We are planning to make it part of the branding of the wider area that has so much scope to bring in new businesses and employment opportunities.

"Andy Scott has done an amazing job in capturing the spirit of the horses, which are such a feature of the area.”