THE ANGEL of the North has appeared in many forms and sizes.

It has been the backdrop to movies, featured on countless calendars, and plays a central part in Gateshead's bid for European cultural capital status.

Now, in its latest guise, the controversial work of art has been transformed into a coffin by a company specialising in designer caskets.

Designer Richard Mullard, of Vic Fearn and Co, in Nottingham, said: "I was asked to create some coffins with a difference - in unusual shapes.

"I was returning from Scotland, trying to think of ideas, when I saw the Gateshead Angel for the first time, and was so impressed I decided to replicate it."

John Gill, a director of the 100-year-old firm, said apart from traditional coffins, his firm had branched out into a range of caskets made to reflect the character of the deceased.

One of the latest includes a narrowboat coffin for a canal fan, a wicker casket, and a kite coffin.

Mr Gill said: "We could put our hand to ideas that would reflect the character North-East. These could include a coffin in the shape of a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, incorporate the Tyne Bridge, or Darlington's brick train."