Holiday snaps taken abroad earlier this year by Chelmsford tourists have fascinated and amazed their friends.

The scenes, photographed at resorts in Spain and India, feature the latest craze sweeping the world's beaches -- the creation of fantastic sculptures which put bucket-and-spade sand castles in the shade.

As if by magic, gifted artists are turning every grain of sand into various subjects, including the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.

How the grains hold together under blazing sun and sea wind is an engineering marvel, but they are ultimately destined to collapse.

Nurse Jenny Clements said: "Jesus and the Last Supper were so brilliant that I had to take pictures of them.

"It's a great shame that the artists aren't working in churches rather than begging on Benidorm beach, but it makes a wonderful sight for tourists."

Another picture, taken by Rob Brandon, during his holiday in the Indian state of Goa, portrays the god of the sea, Neptune, sitting majestically upon "rocks" -- the whole creation made from sand.

Rob, who works for the Essex Chronicle, said: "I discovered Neptune, who must have been 15ft long from his head to tail, on a deserted beach called Paradise early one morning, and I stood wondering how on earth was it made."

"Everyone knows how difficult it is to create a perfect sand castle, so perhaps they use something like hair spray to prevent them from disintegrating under the fierce Indian sun."

If you took a snap of a similar sand sculpture while on holiday, send it to Sand Sculptures, Newsdesk, Essex Chronicle, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3BE.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.