After nearly ten years of planning, the wraps have come off a giant tribute to the Black Country's mining heritage.
A 30ft five-tonne sculpture of a coal worker, sited next to a roundabout in Brownhills, commemorates the miners who worked in the town for three centuries before the last pit was shut down.
The memorial, described as a new rival to the Angel of the North, features a 19th century miner holding aloft a lamp in one hand and a pick in the other.
The statue is already in place at the roundabout where the A4124 Pelsall Road and High Street A452 intersect in Brownhills, but among those looking forward to Wednesday's official unveiling is Doug Birch, an ex-miner of 43 years who first thought of the idea back in 1997.
"From a personal point of view I'm so happy to finally see the project come to fruition. I'm extremely pleased with the end product - the sculptor, John McKenna has done an excellent job," he said.
The Walsall Borough Strategic Partnership and Walsall Council funded the £70,000 project by McKenna. Part of the road had to be closed last week as workmen took two days to install the piece, using cranes to lower the two halves of the statue into place before it was welded together.
The sculpture started in two halves, before it was clad with British-made stainless steel.
Doug, who is a member of the Brownhills local committee, said: "Coal mining was very important in Brownhills. It's a part of the fabric of the town and its people. This piece of art acknowledges that. It celebrates the past but is also forward looking."
Initial hopes were for an authentic colliery winding wheel but when that didn't work out, the team was forced to go back to the drawing board. They rented a vacant shop and held extensive design meetings before settling on the sculpture of a miner.
Doug added: "The statue will create an identity for the area and restore a feeling of pride amongst the community. This is a recovering town which has suffered years of neglect and stagnation, and this is an important part of the regeneration.
"I have a close affinity with mining, my whole working life was spent down mines. A lot of people around here have very fond, but also bitter memories of mining."
Project manager Glen Buglass, principal arts officer for Walsall Council, said: "We've done a lot of work there and the Brown-hills Miner is a symbol of that."
