In pictures: Crosby Beach iron men over the years

The iron men have a become synonymous with the Merseyside coast

Silhouetted against sunsets, half-buried in sand or standing poignantly under the moonlight - Crosby Beach's celebrated iron men sculptures have inspired visitors for two decades.

Sir Antony Gormley's Another Place, featuring 100 iron figures modelled on the artist's own body, has become synonymous with the Sefton coast near Liverpool.

Marking the work's 20th anniversary this week, Sir Antony said: "I think it's about life and death, love and loss, and without people reacting to it, it's nothing."

Here are a selection of striking images of the artwork from over the years.

One of the sculptures shown with a tyre playfully thrown over it

The figures provide a happy hunting ground for photographers capturing sunsets

Sir Antony Gormley at Crosby Beach in July 2005, when Another Place was revealed

Waves break against one of the sculptures left waist-high in the water

An iron man shown silhouetted against the northern lights

Beachgoers paddling in the sea pictured next to one of the statues

The sculptures have survived the elements for two decades

A Cunard cruise ship on the horizon offers another perspective on the iron figures