FRIENDS of a Pensnett beauty spot are celebrating after landing a National Lottery grant to create and install a sculpture to mark the nature reserve.

The Friends of the Fens Pool group, who work to conserve and promote Fens Pool Nature Reserve, have received the bumper grant of £5,000 from the National Lottery to fund a sculpture of a great crested newt.

The sculpture will be designed by Cradley Heath based artist Luke Perry, and will take pride of place in the reserve in Spring next year.

The art work will also celebrate the area's industrial heritage, with nods to chain making and coal mining.

Mark Giles, founder of the group whose home borders on the reserve, said: "The Fens Pool and Pensnett are home to me and many other people and we are really proud to have this fantastic area of outstanding natural beauty on our doorstep.

"We have had great success working with reserve and make it safer. Now we want to enhance the experience of visitors with a work of art that reflects the area’s important industrial heritage and the rare and diverse wildlife that it is home to, including of course, the great crested newt.’’

The newt is of particular significance to the group, as the presence of the species on the reserve helped the group to ensure the site gained a Public Space Protection Order last year in a bid to tackle off-road bikers.

The 30-person strong group formed two years ago and Mark said he has been blown away with the support the group has received, with people regularly taking part in litter picks and meetings.

He added: ""We were always coming up against a problem but it is all coming together."