A PAIR of huge hands held in a loving clasp have been created by a North-East sculptor for the Gretna Green wedding venue.

The piece by Ray Lonsdale, called The Big Dance, was commissioned by the owner of the Old Blacksmith’s Shop as a centrepiece for its sculpture garden.

Mr Lonsdale, 44, of Two Red Rubber Things, in South Hetton, County Durham, is working hard to ensure the 14ft depiction of a couple’s hands are in place in time for Valentine’s Day.

More than 1,000 people a year get married in the Blacksmith’s Shop run by Alasdair Houston.

Mr Lonsdale said: “The idea is that people who get married can have their photographs taken between the hands.”

The hands are made out of a steel alloy that forms a rust-like appearance when exposed to the elements for several years.

Mr Lonsdale said: “Creating it has presented its own challenges. The forearms and the elbows were difficult to make because of the large scale.”

Gretna Green’s runaway marriages began in 1753 when an Act was passed requiring consent of parents if the bride and groom were not 21 or over.

The act did not apply in Scotland.