AN eye-catching sculpture has been unveiled outside a new centre offering support to parents and young children in Hartlepool.

The galvanised steel structure, which is based on design ideas put forward by local families, greets visitors to the Sure Start South building, in Rossmere Way.

The building is one of two Sure Start centres in south Hartlepool, the other is in the Seaton Grange area.

Both centres house a wide range of staff, including speech therapists, child psychologists, health visitors, family workers and play learning workers.

Parents and Sure Start staff worked closely with artist Graeme Hopper who used traditional blacksmith techniques at his forge in Hunwick, County Durham, to create the sculpture.