A DRAMATIC monument to the industrial heritage of heavy horses has finally been completed after eight years.

The 100ft tall Kelpies sculpture of two giant horse heads, which is made from 600 tonnes of steel, unveiled yesterday, has been a monumental construction project. Designed by sculptor Andy Scott for The Helix, a project which aims to transform land in the central belt, the towering heads have been attracting second glances from motorists on the M9 between Grangemouth and Falkirk.

The project has been inspired by the tradition of working horses which used to pull barges along canals and worked in the fields where The Kelpies now stand.

The pair are based on real life Clydesdale horses called Duke and Barron.

Mr Scott said that he was delighted with the end result. He added: "It is almost eight years since I did the first sketches on the kitchen table of my then girlfriend, now wife's kitchen table in Amsterdam. 2So to see them completed is both humbling and fantastic.

"I have always been fascinated with horses and the heavy horse was at one time the driving force in industry until after the industrial revolution."

He designed the structures which include 10,000 special fixings to secure the "skin" of the two horse heads to the steel framework.

The site will open to the public next summer.

The Kelpies are part of a £43 million redevelopment of around 350 hectares of land between Falkirk and Grangemouth, including new parkland and pathways.

It is hoped the site will attract thousands more tourists to the region and boost the local economy.

Falkirk councillor Adrian Mahoney said: "The Kelpies will be a key part of that attraction and look absolutely stunning."