A SCULPTOR whose work has been shown all over the world will present one of his pieces to US President George W Bush.

Richard Sefton, of Pickersleigh Grove, Malvern, is awaiting a formal invitation to fly to Washington to hand over the sculpture depicting a cowboy on horseback.

The piece, entitled Get Off My Buck, was first designed by Mr Sefton while he was working for the former porcelain company Connoisseur of Malvern.

The moulds were recently resurrected and a series of 41, entitled Bronco Busters, commissioned.

In December, a piece from the series was presented to George Bush senior. It was then decided that his son should also have one.

Mr Sefton said: "The Bushes are a cowboy family, so it's very appropriate. But when I first did it, I had no idea it would end up in the White House.

"I've got stuff in galleries and museums all over the world, but clearly this is a tremendous boost."

The sculpture for George W Bush is currently being painted by Bronte Porcelain, of Malvern.

Meanwhile, Mr Sefton is also working on a piece for the Whitby lifeboat, commemorating Henry Freeman, coxswain of the lifeboat from 1835 to 1904. The finished sculpture will be cast in bronze and be the centrepiece on the front of the new lifeboat station in the north Yorkshire town.

Mr Sefton said he was enjoying the project tremendously: "I'm most excited about this, as this is history - it's a real man. Everything else I do is make-believe. It will be there for future generations when I'm long gone."

Previously a builder, Mr Sefton became a sculptor 30 years ago when he started work with Connoisseur.

He has gone on to exhibit and sell his work all over the world, in venues including the Kennedy Art Centre in Washington and The Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma.

Closer to home, his bust of Elgar is on display at the Elgar Birthplace Museum in Lower Broadheath.

Mr Sefton said he had no plans to stop sculpting.

"I'm hoping to carry on for as long as I can," he said. "I love the job and I believe it's keeping me young because whilst I'm doing it, I haven't got time to be ill."