Andy Scott Sculpture

A £250,000 sculpture designed to boost the image of one of Scotland's most maligned towns is to be inscribed with poetry, it has been revealed.

The 10m (33ft) steel structure, of a female form, will carry a four-verse poem, Watershed, penned by Scottish rural poet Jim Carruth.

The finished sculpture will overlook the A80 near Cumbernauld - formerly named the most dismal Scottish town.

The work, by artist Andy Scott, will be unveiled later this summer.

The design for the Cumbernauld sculpture was inspired by the original name for the town, "comar nan allt", which means "coming together of waters" in Gaelic.

The work was commissioned by Campsies Centre Cumbernauld Ltd (CCCL) - a company established by North Lanarkshire Council to facilitate the redevelopment of Cumbernauld.

Jim Carruth said: "By using the 'meeting of waters' as a starting point I wanted to give a voice to the statue, the tributaries and the community and create a poem that would talk of the central and national importance of Cumbernauld.

"I have been disappointed by the negative, unfair focus that Cumbernauld has attracted over the years, as the town has such a lot to offer.

"I have countered this in my poem by trying to capture the pride local people have for the town and the importance of listening to their voice."