A STATUE commissioned by The Northern Echo to commemorate a once-forgotten war hero is taking shape.

Keith Maddison has been working on the 8ft sculpture since the Echo launched its £40,000 Forgotten Hero appeal in June, in memory of Canadian Second World War gunner Andrew Mynarski.

Pilot Officer Mynarski, 27, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross after plunging to his death after trying to free fellow gunner Pat Brophy from the back of their plane, which had been hit by flak over France in 1944.

The crew flew out of the Royal Canadian Air Force base at Middleton St George, near Darlington, now Durham Tees Valley Airport.

Mr Maddison's statue will be unveiled in the airport's new terminal in June, when Canadian war veterans hold their annual reunion.

"It's getting on for 4ft now, which takes us up to almost his hip," said Mr Maddison.

He is using a coiling process to create the statue in his studio in Elsdon, Northumberland, the same technique he employed for his sculpture of Middlesbrough footballer George Hardwick.

"I don't know any other sculptor who uses this technique," he said.

"It's all done by hand and it's basically a massive, complicated coil pot. I then cut it into manageable sections to fire it."

An airforce enthusiast, Mr Maddison is using a wartime flying suit and kit to ensure the sculpture is authentic.

His ceramic structure will be taken to a foundry in Invernesshire, where it will be replicated in wax. A plaster mould will be made, into which the bronze is poured.

"Once it leaves me, it's not a one-man show anymore," he said.

"It's like losing an old friend, even one who has caused you lots of bother."

Mr Maddison, who has been interviewed about the appeal on Canadian radio, hopes the ceramic sculpture can be put up in Mynarski's home city of Winnipeg.

"It would be heavy and difficult to move but I'm very keen for that to happen. It seems the appropriate place."

The statue appeal stands at more than £20,000. To make a donation, send a cheque, made payable to The Northern Echo's Forgotten Hero Appeal, to Newsdesk, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF.