A LOVINGLY created art sculpture for Teignmouth’s acclaimed TRAIL exhibition which was destroyed in an arson attack have managed to come up with a last minute replacement.

Adults from Camphill, near Buckfastleigh, have created a memorial wreath of recycled flowers, mounted on a bicycle wheel, after their original work, of a family wearing wetsuits, was left as a pile of dust.

The artists, who have learning difficulties, had spent three months working to complete their original contribution.

Just a few weeks after the fire, which was believed to have been started deliberately, they have come up with an alternative in a short space of time.

Camphill support worker Liz Wilkinson Cave said: ‘We wanted to do something as a memorial to the sculpture that was burned.

‘We came up with the idea of making a wreath which has been made out of plastic bottles and painted to form flowers.

‘These have been placed on a bicycle wheel.

‘It has helped the guys who built the original, helped by our fantastic team leaders, and who lost their work to focus their energy on something positive.

‘We have made the flowers out of plastic bottles before so it was something we could make more easily.

‘It has helped the guys to be more positive rather than be angry about what had happened and they had worked hard to make this

They really felt it was important to do.’

Up to 12 of the Camphill adults got together to make the replacement sculpture.

The fire caused outrage among the public who were distressed at the ‘mindless vandalism’ which happened on the first night the sculpture was put in place.