Wimbledon: Ashill artist's pride at statue on display at Wimbledon

An artist has said he was "really proud" to see his new sculpture on display outside Court One at Wimbledon.

The 12ft (3.6m) bronze piece, called the Serving Ace Meeting Tree, is being exhibited at the All England Tennis Club in south west London.

It was designed and created on the family farm at Ashill, near Swaffham, Norfolk, by Mark Reed.

The statue includes one of Wimbledon's more famous residents, the Womble character Orinoco.

Mr Reed said: "I'm really pleased with the way they've planted around the statue, with the fox gloves and green ferns in the seating area.

"That was the idea of the All England Club's head gardener, Martyn Falconer, to make it look like a woodland glade."

The 52-year-old said he had been inspired by a visit to the Championships in 2018 and he created the sculpture to reflect the moment of quiet before an explosive shot.

"I was fascinated with how the players serve when I came to watch the tennis," he said.

Orinoco was carved at the bottom of the 1.4 tonne statue's tree trunk, which took 6,000 hours to produce.

Mr Reed said: "I took a cast from a toy - I had to get permission to do that from the Wombles, but they were happy to let me.".

The Wombles was a series of books by Elizabeth Beresford about secretive creatures who live beneath Wimbledon Common, later turned into a BBC series.

As well as a designated place to meet, the tree has become an attraction in its own right, with tennis fans stopping for selfies in front of it.

The sculptor said he was "really proud today to see people having their pictures taken in front of it".

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