大象传媒

Having picked up a global following of thousands, the peregrine falcons who've made Derby Cathedral their home have also inspired a Derbyshire man to get artistic.

John Graley, from Sandiacre, has been an avid follower of the cathedral's peregrine webcam for several years.

And after deciding to turn his hand to wood carving, John opted to go for the peregrines as the subject for his first effort.

He said: "They are beautiful birds - comparable with a kestrel. I think they have an air of mystery about them and their hoods are very distinctive."

The carving took John four weeks to complete and he used stills from the webcam to shape the piece and paint the bird accurately.

The finished carving

He explained: "The webcams were useful for the fine details. I'd downloaded some pictures from the internet but they didn't capture everything.

"So the webcams helped me get the bands on the tail and all the exact detail - that's where they came into their own.

"I did a few sketches, put the wood into a vice and away I went!"

John says he's always had an artistic and has previously worked on oil paintings but this was his first attempt at a wood carving.

He says he's pretty happy with how it's turned out and now has plans to work on some further pieces.

He said: "I'm hoping to do a kestrel swooping on something like a frog and - as cruel as it sounds - a lioness about to pounce on a zebra. I like to have them doing something other than posing.

"But I've found carving very enjoyable - I'm in a little world of my own when I'm doing it.

"My wife doesn't see me from the moment I get home from work to the time I go to bed - and at weekends I'm in the garage!"