Hopes horse sculptures will help harness tourism potential

Life-sized sculptures of Clydesdale horses are to be placed around a town next summer in a bid to boost visitor numbers.

Artists from across Scotland have been invited to decorate the 30 statues, which will be set out in a trail of prominent places around Hamilton and the surrounding area.

Businesses in the town will be encouraged to sponsor a horse and, at the end of the project, the 6.2ft sculptures will be auctioned off with proceeds going to Kilbryde Hospice.

It is hoped the Ready Steady Gallop! event will attract thousands of visitors to the South Lanarkshire town, as happened in Liverpool, which hosted penguin sculptures, Norwich, which had gorillas, and Bristol, which had Gromit sculptures.