Fallen Moon spectacle deflates in strong winds

Fallen Moon is a scale model that is 350,000 times smaller than the real thing

A giant replica of the moon placed in a disused docks has fully deflated in strong winds.

Artist Luke Jerram had chosen Bridgwater, in Somerset, to debut his first water-based installation of the Fallen Moon.

However, the internally-lit sculpture, based on data from NASA, was damaged by "extreme weather" over the weekend, Bridgwater Town Council said.

Jeremy James, Bridgwater town deal outreach and events manager, said he was "frustrated" and it was "a real shame".

'Fantastic turnout'

The Fallen Moon had partially deflated on Wednesday before being restored.

The council apologised for any inconvenience or disappointment, and said it had launched an investigation.

The moon was installed ahead of the start of £5.2m regeneration works to the docks that have not been in use since December 2021.

More than 10,000 people have visited the docks since the artwork was unveiled on 15 October, the council said. The display was planned to finish on 3 November.

Mr James said: "We've had a fantastic turnout after a week. It was always a challenging, technical project. We are grateful to so many who came to see it."

He added: "If we can get it back up we will, but I'm not going to pretend to be optimistic."