Comic faces etched in sand

The giant faces of comedy stars Steve Coogan, Dawn French and David Jason have been etched into a Devon beach.

It took 13 experts more than seven hours to create the images of Alan Patridge, The Vicar Of Dibley and Only Fools And Horses as publicity stunt for satellite TV station UKTV Gold.

The portraits, measuring 206ft by 113ft, were raked into the sand at Saunton Sands by Circlemakers – a team best known for creating crop circles.

Spokesman John Lundberg said: “This was our most ambitious project yet.  We had to race against the tide under blazing heat. The sand was so swampy we had to start all over again after two hours’ work.”

The stunt was designed to promote UKTV Gold’s Summer Nights Of Comedy season, which starts tonight and features the likes of I’m Alan Partridge and Have I Got News For You.

Published: 14 Jun 2004