​Proceeds from town sculptures will go to charity

A special Tunnock’s Teacake giraffe is just one of a number of animal sculptures set to be auctioned for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

The giant sculpture is the work of 23-year-old Scottish artist Rae McCulloch (pictured below) and is just one of the many animals that will be visiting Hamilton this summer as part of The Big Stampede.

Organised by Hamilton Business Improvement District (BID), in partnership with Wild in Art, the initiative will transform Hamilton into a sculptural animal kingdom for 10 weeks from 23 June 2017.

Over eight foot in height and 40kg in weight, Thomas the giraffe will be hard to miss when he goes on public display at Top Cross Street in Hamilton.

More than 100 other animals, including elephants, giraffes, gorillas, rhinos and hippos on the safari trail will be in the town including ‘Sekhmet’ the lion and ‘Albert III’, a powerful gorilla crafted in a fibre glass space suit with an acrylic helmet.

After the 10 weeks' display, Thomas and the rest of the sculptures will go to auction with proceeeds going to Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

The charity supports the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow which treats 160,000 babies, children and young people every year.

Gareth Walker, manager at Hamilton BID, said: “The countdown is officially on with just over a week to go until the invasion of The Big Stampede. Rae’s bold and adventurous designs are fantastic and perfectly capture the essence of the trail. The Tunnock’s Teacake inspired giraffe is sure to be a highlight for visitors and I have no doubt Rae’s collection of animals will raise valuable funds for charity.”

A special map has been created to locate the animals, available from shops, libraries, community centres, hotels and other attractions throughout Hamilton.