CULTURE vultures who find themselves stranded in the cultural desert of Macclesfield have been given a handy hint on the best way to get out of town.

A sign giving directions to the new bus station has been attached to the £7,500 sculpture on Mill Street - one of the only pieces of public art in the borough.

The sign was erected in mistake by workers at Cheshire County Council, the authority that originally commissioned the abstract work from renowned artist and blacksmith Andrew Smith.

The artist, who has in the past been commissioned by HRH Queen and is one of Britain's leading sculptors in metal, was magnanimous about the gaffe when the Express spoke to him.

But he did say it showed a lack of respect for the work and believes it may illustrate why the town was branded a cultural desert in a recent State of the Nation report.

London-based Andrew Smith, 43, said: "Obviously I think it's wrong. It's not meant to be a road sign.

"But I'm sure it has been done by mistake. There were probably a few guys sent out in a truck to put up the sign and they thought 'that's a nice bare pole'.

"I'm sure it wasn't deliberate but I've never heard of anything like this happening before to my work or to anyone else's at all.

"I was offended and disappointed when I heard about it. It's an issue of respect for the sculpture.

"It is important to have public works of art. I hadn't heard about Macclesfield being labelled a cultural desert, that's unfortunate but perhaps this illustrates the point.

"I'm happy the sign has now been removed."

The 12ft abstract sculpture symbolises the town's history of silk manufacturing, and includes elements of an old weaving loom.

A spokesman for the county council said: "A temporary sign was inappropriately placed and has been taken down and will be relocated to a nearby site."

Geoff Hall wrote to the Express about the sign.

"The sculpture is squashed between No Entry signs and is directly in front of a bus shelter and mast," he said. "It's impossible to get any kind of view of it.

"Not just that, but the council has now fixed signs to the sculpture with an arrow pointing to the bus station! Is it a sculpture or a very elaborate and expensive road sign?

"It is, I believe, intended to include elements associated with silk manufacture. Wouldn't it be better then to move it, say, to the Silk Museum, where it could be seen properly and where it would draw attention to the town's heritage?

"Maybe then Macclesfield Council would be able to say it has a genuine interest in culture."