THE final touches are being put in the UK to Jersey’s £160,000 Liberation sculpture.

The 18-foot-high 3 1/2-ton bronze Freedom Tree by Jubilee Needle sculptor Richard Perry will form the centrepiece of a new public area called La Pieche de L’Av’nin – Place of the Future – overlooking the Elizabeth Marina.

Mr Perry said that he was working ‘non-stop’ at a foundry in Basingstoke to finish the piece so that it can be shipped to the Island on 5 May.

It will be installed by Mr Perry and a specialist team the following day, ready for unveiling on Liberation Day.

‘I’m extremely pleased with the progress and am really looking forward to seeing the sculpture in place,’ he said.

‘This is one of the most complicated pieces I’ve made.

The timescale has been tight, to say the least, but everyone here at the foundry is working on it to make sure the sculpture meets my exact requirements.’ A granite bench reflecting the surface of the sea has already been installed.

It was designed as part of the commission and finished by Mr Perry during a recent visit to the Island.