A GIANT frog has made the jump from Wiltshire to London in preparation for the 2008 Year of the Frog celebrations.

Sir David Attenborough applied the finishing touches to the three-foot tall sculpture, created by Heytesbury artist Anthony Wilson, when it was officially unveiled at London Zoo last week.

The sculpture, which has been nicknamed Frederick the Frog, is made from recycled materials including car parts and glass.

Mr Wilson, 58, who is also the chairman of Heytesbury Village Hall Committee, was asked to come up with a design that will be on show throughout the year to coincide with London's Sustainability Weeks.

Mr Wilson said: "It looks like quite a friendly frog. I was pleased with it. It was hard to make in two weeks."

Sir David Attenborough is the patron of the 2008 Year of the Frog Campaign, which is designed to highlight the plight of amphibians.

Mr Wilson said: "It was a pleasure to meet him. The sculpture was favourably received I think.

"The zoo wanted it to be made from recycled material. It's one of their objectives and it is much cheaper."

Frederick the Frog was made using various materials. Its rounded mouth was created out of a squashed television satellite dish.

The bulbous eyes were created from the rear lamps of a Rover car and the mudguard provided a rounded fat stomach.

The back of the frog was covered with recycled glass aggregate, while the stomach was covered in fragmented CD's and materials donated by Sureset Paving, in Sutton Veny.

Many species of amphibians are facing extinction in the wild due to disease, habitat loss, climate change, pollution and pesticides, introduced species and over-collection for food and pets.

Amphibian Ark, a research group aiming to sustain amphibian populations, has launched the Year of the Frog campaign with leading zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums to generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis.

Mr Wilson was commissioned to make the piece as he is well known to London Zoo and has organised an exhibition there in the summer called the Love London Recycled Sculpture Show.

The exhibition will be a group show for sculptors to create pieces made from recycled materials to reflect the conservation issues.

For more details on the work of Anthony Wilson go online to www.sculpturemad.com