The UK's tallest piece of public art since Nelson's Column will go on display on Sunday near Birchwood, Cheshire.

Encounter, a 91 feet (28 metres) high sculpture which depicts two people meeting, is being hoisted into place on a traffic island off junction 11 of the M62, which leads into the area.

Its creator Stephen Broadbent said it was designed to reflect the relationship between local business and the wider community.

"It's a piece of public art, a marker for the junction into Birchwood," Mr Broadbent told the BBC, "and it's very much for the community here."

"It's got two figures represented in it encountering one another, up in the air, so it's representative of two people coming together, and it's also inspired by the birch tree and the bark peeling off the tree.

"It's a very slender, very elegant piece."

Workshop

The statue, which was privately funded by the community, local companies and schools, was made in Birchwood itself.

"We've had a huge workshop in Birchwood where people have been able to witness the stages of its manufacture," Mr Broadbent said.

"We've been trying to create that sense of ownership within the area, to give locals a sense of identity."

The sculpture - which has also been funded by mobile telecoms firm Hutchison 3G - will house a mobile phone mast.

Marsyas is one of the world's biggest indoor sculptures

The new sculpture is making its debut just days after one of the largest pieces of indoor sculpture in the world went on display at the Tate Modern.

The work, Marsyas, by Turner prize winning artist Anish Kapoor, measures over 490 feet (almost 150 metres) in length and is 10 storeys high, spanning the entire entrance of the art gallery.