A MOSAIC, which marks Droitwich Spa's saltmaking heritage, is set to be unveiled in Vines Park in a ceremony next Tuesday.

Created by artist Alison Ogle, from Worcester, the mosaic depicts figures through the ages of salt making history such as St Richard, a 19th century salt maker.

It also features local historical buildings, including the Chateau Impney and the Raven hotel.

The mosaic took more than 500 hours to produce and is made up of 70,000 glass pieces called tesserae.

The borders of the art work were inspired by the mosaics at the town's Sacred Heart Church and made, under guidance from Alison, by pupils from Droitwich town schools - including year four at Westlands and Chawson first schools and year six at Witton Middle School.

The £9,000 bill has been sponsored by Wychavon's Parks contractors Fountains and the council has also contributed to the cost.

Wychavon District Council's parks officer Lynn Stevens said: "The mosaic is stunningly beautiful and is a very colourful piece of art work.

"It will be set on a slope in the shrub bed at the side of the St Richards Statue so will be visible to travellers along the Saltway as they come into the town.

"Salt making has been a massive part of Droitwich Spa's history and is still important to the area, so we wanted to reflect this in the mosaic theme.

"The pupils involved brought great inspiration to this piece of artwork which will continue to be enjoyed in the town for years to come."