WHEN American art student John Thomas LeFebvre III had to base a college project on a man-made landmark, he was spoilt for choice.

He comes, after all, from the country that boasts the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge and the mighty Hoover Dam.

Instead, he chose the town clock thousands of miles away in Darlington.

Mr LeFebvre III has completed an animation project based on the clock after spotting it on the Darlington town website, which promotes information and events for residents, visitors and ex-patriots.

The student, who has never been to Darlington, has been attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, for two years, as he tries to develop a career in animation.

He said: "We were given an assignment to produce a realistic piece about some type of mechanical object.

"I said, 'Hey, clocks are pretty cool and innovative since way back when', so I decided to go with a clock tower.

"I went straight to the Internet and searched through images of clock tower pictures. I saw a few really crisp, clean, large, digital camera pictures of this one tower and it just so happened to be in Darlington.

"I said, 'Hey, now that's a cool looking tower' and there were already some pictures that I could work with."

He e-mailed Mark Burton, who runs the website as a not-for-profit community service.

Mr Burton, who put the images on his site in a feature about the clock, said: "We have lots of contact from people who used to live in the town or who have visited, who want to know a little bit more information.

"When you delve into the history surrounding the town it can be really interesting and it's great to hear how we have helped with such a great project, especially one so far away."

Mr LeFebvre III said: "I hope my work will inspire others to consider recreating pieces of history. I wouldn't mind making a 3-D model out of some other landmarks of Darlington."