'Stampede by the Sea' sculptures arriving at AmSafe Bridport

More than 30 of the 6ft high elephant sculptures are set to arrive at AmSafe in Bridport ahead of the 'Stampede by the Sea' art trail.

This art trail will see colourful elephant sculptures come to Bridport, West Bay and Lyme Regis in the spring of 2025 to raise funds and awareness for Dorset charity Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.

But first, the sculptures need to be shipped in and painted, which will take place at AmSafe in West Street, Bridport.

One of the smaller elephants outside AmSafe (Image: AmSafe Bridport)

Audun Rør, of AmSafe, said: "We are delighted to be part of Stampede by the Sea as their official logistics partner. It is such a fantastic opportunity to support the local community with an art trail that will raise essential funds for our local hospice.

"As one of the main employers in the town, who can trace their history back to the rope-making days of the 12th century it felt right to sponsor an elephant for present and past employees to be proud of."

Am Safe provides highly engineered textile products to support safety and securement needs.

Audun Rør​ (Image: AmSafe Bridport)

The elephants will arrive today and around 12 members of the Weldmar team will be on site in their tour T-shirts and logistics staff will be transporting the elephants by forklift to their temporary storage home.

Where the elephants will be staying whilst they are painted (Image: AmSafe Bridport)

Mr Rør added: "As a logistics partner, we have offered a dedicated space within our factory in the centre of Bridport for warehousing and painting of the elephants. We will be lucky to get an in-depth experience of the stampede coming to life.  

"Elephants are fairly significant and symbolic for our business as the national animal of Sri Lanka where our main production facility is located, so we are all looking forward to adding to the herd with a sponsored elephant when the trail goes live in Spring 2025."

(Image: AmSafe Bridport)

The art project created by Wild in Art will transform each area into a vibrant, fun, and free art trail, engaging with local families, schools, businesses, and artists.

Some 30 striking and colourful elephants will be waiting to be discovered, each designed and painted by talented artists.

In a previous statement about the stampede, Matt Smith, chief operating officer at Weldmar Hospicecare, said: “This is something that we’ve wanted to do for a number of years, and now seems the right time as Weldmar marks its 30th anniversary.

“Apart from the financial benefits to us from the sponsorships and the auction which will go straight back into delivering our care, this will also help break down those barriers and the stigma around end of life and dying, and conversations around bereavement which can be the elephant in the room.

"Getting people to understand the care we provide in Dorset is really important.”