Cows about Cambridge: Herd of 50 statues for art trail

Two of the cows, pre-painting, were placed outside King's College chapel for publicity shots

A herd of 50 colourful cows is due to "graze" on Cambridge's open green spaces and streets.

The white fibreglass models have been created by Wild in Art and will be painted by artists and sponsored by businesses as part of an installation in the city.

Cows About Cambridge will include a trail taking in the models, which will be installed at various locations for about 10 weeks.

The trail runs from the spring of 2020.

A number of organisations will be working with Wild in Art which has created similar sculpture trails across many other cities.

Past exhibitions include dozens of gorillas and dragons gracing the streets of Norwich.

Go Go Gorillas graced parts of Norwich during one of the many exhibitions

Ipswich had a Pigs Gone Wild trail in 2016 - including this David Bowie-inspired statue called Piggy Stardust

The large fibreglass Cambridge cows will be will be painted by artists and will be joined by a number of much smaller cow sculptures or "mini moos" decorated by school children.

"The bespoke designs will tell the story of Cambridge and its people in a new way, which will inspire those who walk the trail to smile, laugh, think and reflect," said Wild in Art's director, Charlie Langhorne.

Real-life cows roaming the commons of the city are a familiar sight and the city council licenses grazing in five areas for a fee of £65 per cow, which is reduced if you have more than 10.

However, painted cows gracing the streets will be a first for Cambridge.

The cows will be painted before going on show in Cambridge next year

Once the exhibition is over, some of the cows will be auctioned with funds going to Break, a charity which supports vulnerable children and young people across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.