Passers-by had to do a double take of a woman reclining on a sofa in the snowy garden of a Bradford on Avon house.

The snow sculpture was created in three hours by Phil Courage, his daughter Felicity and two of his neighbours' children William and Mara Stacey.

Mr Courage, of Springfield, said: “My daughter is 35 going on seven and wanted to come round to build a snowman. The children from next door also joined in.

“It is a work in progress. Luckily no-one has thrown snowballs at it, but it’s is slowly shrinking. This morning I added icicles to her hair and she now looks like the Statue of Liberty.

Mr Courage, 64, started creating sculptures three years ago when he needed to get rid of the snow from his driveway.

“Last year I built an igloo, but I think people have raised their expectations and expect us to do something even better. Maybe next year I could do the leaning tower of Pisa.”

Mr Courage designs stage sets for local drama groups and is currently involved in The Bradfordians production of Little Women, which starts on February 13-16.