A UNIQUE 10ft statue of a female chainmaker containing a time capsule is being made by Black Country artist Luke Perry to stand in Cradley Heath.

The four-tonne steel structure, made from a casting method usually reserved for luxury car manufacture, is to be erected in Lower High Street, just inside the Mary Macarthur Memorial Gardens, honouring the famous strike leader and the women who struck out for a fair wage in 1910.

A fun day on Saturday June 9 will celebrate the unveiling of the monument, which is costing £25,000 paid for by developers, and mark the 100th anniversary of the workers’ institute built after the strike.

“I want the day to be a big community effort, with bands and parades and hopefully a couple of thousand people,” said Mr Perry.

The heritage artist has wanted to build the statue for several years and has been working on it for a year so far, after winning the commission from Sandwell Council.

He first made a quarter-scale sculpture as a template and is looking for ideas for what to put in the time capsule.

Schoolchildren are invited to submit pieces of creative writing and anyone with ideas of artefacts and information to include can contact Mr Perry by email at mr.1.perry@gmail.com or take them to the Black Country Bugle, High Street, Cradley Heath, where the scale model is being displayed.