Colourful dolphins appear on Isle of Man as charity art trail begins

Each dolphin features a different design from a local firm or community group

Thirty-three colourfully painted dolphin sculptures have popped up across the Isle of Man as part of a charity's fundraising art trail.

Each has been decorated by local artists and school children as part of the marine-themed The Big Splash event.

The models will be displayed until September, then auctioned in a bid to raise £350,000 for Hospice Isle of Man.

Charity chief executive Anne Mills said it follows the success of a previous project involving model wallabies.

They raised £250,000 at auction in 2019, a target Ms Mills said the charity is aiming to better this year.

Ms Mills said: "Our running costs are about £5.5m, with just under £1m from Manx Care, meaning the rest has to come from fundraising."

The 33 models are on display for 12 weeks and will be auctioned in September

Each model has been sponsored by local organisations or firms in an initiative that "really works" involving public art firm Wild in Art, which helped prepare the trail, Ms Mills said.

"I do not think people realise just how many groupies there are for these Wild in Art trails, and there are families that go on holiday to where the next trail is," she added.

The model displayed in Onchan Park was designed by retired astronaut Nicole Stott, who has links to the island, to mark 15 years of the hospice's children's facility Rebecca House.

That facility cares for "some the most vulnerable families" and funds were needed "to continue to deliver that care", Ms Mills said.

The Onchan Park dolphin designed by Nicole Stott is called 'Off the Earth, For the Earth'

Since being put in place around the island, one of the sculptures has been targeted by vandals, in a move the charity described as "distressing".

Police confirmed the damage to the model positioned in Victoria Street was being investigated and appealed for anyone with information to contact police headquarters.

Vandals damaged the dolphin on display on Victoria Street in Douglas