Memorials are usually built to a certain formula, but a Dovercourt man is attempting to buck the trend.

A Diana, Princess of Wales remembrance walk through London's West End is to be created this year and Colin Wilkin, 73, believes he has just the thing to go with it.

The retired engineer, who has a sculpture of an octopus in his garden, says he is ready for a national audience with a piece called A Tribute to Diana featuring elements of the princess's life he found appropriate.

"There are rays of sunlight coming from the Paris road tunnel where she died," Mr Wilkin said, "down to the land mine which is on the children with crutches."

Metal flowers represent the tributes left outside Kensington Palace following the princess's death in 1997.

The sculpture has been exhibited before in galleries at Manningtree and Copdock but the asking price of £200 was never met.Now Mr Wilkin says he will donate the work to any planned London memorial.

A spokesman for Royal Parks confirmed a planned seven-mile walk would include sculptures but said it was too early to say if Mr Wilkin's design would be included when the route is opened in the summer.

But by that time Mr Wilkin will have already made his sculpting mark on a much smaller scale in Manningtree. He has been commissioned to create a sculpture of a Manningtree Ox for the town due to be unveiled in May.

Designs for a seven-mile long walk were announced this week but organisers backed by Government minister Gordon Brown have said it is too early to book Mr Wilkin's work a place on the route.

"I have these ideas when I am asleep," 73-year-old Mr Wilkin said.

"You have to experiment to come up with ideas."

Colin Wilkin with his Octopus sculpture.

Pictures: NIGEL BROWN

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