A familiar landmark for the past four years, Presteigne’s Sleeping Dragon has been removed from its vantage point on the outskirts of the town.

Large crowds gathered to watch sculptor Peter Smith’s creation, made to mark the centenary of the First World War, taken away in a solemn ceremony upon a dray pulled by two shire horses.

For many, Mr Smith’s dragon had become part of the local landscape and there are hopes that it could be replaced with a lasting sculpture.

“It was heartwarming to see so many people responding to the Sleeping Dragon and using it as the vehicle for their own personal remembrance with the wooden crosses that collectively became a community in remembrance of a wider loss,” said Mr Smith. He said the ceremony surrounding the removal of the dragon and cromlech was an “extraordinary” thing. “It was way beyond anything I might have expected,” he added.

Mr Smith said he was also moved to see so many crosses placed by children on the wide grass verge where the dragon has kept vigil during the centenary years marking the anniversary of the Great War. He said he hoped that all those children now know a little more of how their families played a part in world history.

“The future of a replacement is a question of people wanting one enough to make it happen,” said Mr Smith. He explained it was “not really my call”, but that if local feeling pressed for a permanent sculpture, he would help with the practical side of the project.