FIGURES of a mother clutching her child which will feature as part of a new Oaks disaster memorial have taken up an unusual home this week.
Sculptor Graham Ibbeson, who has been tasked with making the £120,000 monument, has taken the fibreglass statue to Morrisons, Barnsley, in an effort to raise the £60,000 still needed to pay for it.
Graham said Morrisons have let him stand on Wednesday and yesterday this week and he and the figures will be back on the same days next week.
He said a planning application is going in for the memorial which will stand on a piece of council-owned land close to the Barnsley Chronicle offices.
“We are aiming to have it up for December 12 this year, which would be the 150th anniversary of the Oaks disaster, which was the worst mining disaster in England.
“Most of the money raised has come from local donations. We also have sold 90 maquettes (miniature replicas of the statue). It’s been an incredible effort.”
Read more in this weeks Barnsley Chronicle
