A GIANT wooden horse took to the streets of a North-East town as part of a project aiming to bring communities together.

In a show of community spirit, the 16ft-tall Gresham Horse made its debut appearance in Middlesbrough on Sunday afternoon.

It was created by a team of people living in and around the Gresham area of the town, led by artist Isabel Lima.

The collaborative effort brought together the neighbourhood’s diverse population and allowed people of all backgrounds to forge friendships at a series of workshops throughout the summer.

Participants included refugees, asylum seekers and Teesside-born residents, with the project aiming to highlight “mutual commonalities within the communities”.

Ms Lima said: “The project is about the community coming together and taking ownership of their neighbourhood in a very diverse area of Middlesbrough.

“People who worked on the project include displaced people from all over the world.”

The Gresham Horse Parade began in the car park of the mima art gallery – where the horse was built – and ended at Union Street with a communal picnic.

The sculpture will now be kept at Newport Community Hub for a month.