SCULPTOR Colin Spofforth may have moved away from the Trafford area, but his influence is still being felt across the borough's landscape.

The Liverpool born artist, who used to work out of a studio in Altrincham, will unveil two new pieces in the area over the coming months.

Since November, visitors to the Trafford Centre have been able to feast their eyes on Colin's latest creation, based on Trafford's coat of arms. The sculpture stands outside the recently redeveloped main entrance to the shopping and entertainment complex and its creator says there are echoes of Rome's Trevi Fountain in the work.

"With all the columns that already exist at the Trafford Centre they wanted a piece of work within that context and it needed to fit in and enhance what's there already," he says.

His next Trafford creation will be unveiled in the spring outside Altrincham Town Hall. This piece will celebrate the market town heritage of Altrincham - a heritage that stretches back centuries.

When he's commissioned to create a sculpture, the client supplies him with a brief that sets out what they want the finished product to look like. How much scope does he have to introduce his own ideas into a client's brief?

"I have quite a lot of freedom - once I've gone beyond the concept stage then I normally find there are one or two things that can be added to the pot that I need to incorporate into the design. Once you move beyond the concept thing you've got to deliver a working sculpture that's not going to cause any problems," he says.

Bearing in mind there are some people who would never consider setting foot inside an art gallery, Colin thinks sculpture is a great way of bringing art to a wider audience and he confesses to being something of a perfectionist when it comes to his profession. He's also not the sort of person who lives off his previous artistic projects.

Anyone who thinks artists are all terribly intense people who take themselves terribly seriously would doubtless find this affable 43-year-old a breath of fresh air. He laughs easily and is far from being full of himself and he and his personal assistant Claire get on like the proverbial house on fire.

A father-of-three, he now lives with his wife and family on a remote farm on the outskirts of Chester. His home is reached by going down a bumpy and anonymous dirt track and the farm, which came with 40 acres of land, is surrounded by picture postcard Cheshire countryside. He's even got his own weir. Colin has turned one of the farm buildings into a studio and it's hard to imagine a more peaceful place in work. He regrets not being able to spend much time with his children during the recent summer holidays, mainly because he was working hard on the Trafford Centre piece and a life size sculpture of the Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr. Colin says the kids are already showing an interest in their dad's job.

"I don't know if they'll follow me but they do like it. They use the studio - if there's dangerous equipment lying around they're not allowed to play with that but they use the space," he says.