A new, if temporary, landmark has appeared in Warwick as the town came out in force to watch the Birmingham 2022 cycling road races over the weekend.

Arranged in Warwick Castle Farm Park Field, an enormous bicycle made from 252 straw bales was built as many of the world's best riders took to the local roads on Sunday (August 7).

Each bale measures 81 x 46 x 31cm and weighs 18kg, with the wheels of the bike made from brightly coloured material to match the Commonwealth Games colours.

The 50m by 30m bicycle featured heavily on the BBC as the racing was televised live and it will be left in place for a few more days before being taken apart.

The bike was the brainchild of two of Warwickshire County Council's graduates – Seb Burch and James Sewry – who are both taking part in the national graduate development programme for local government.

The straw bales were donated by Hutsby Farms and it took the duo four hours to put it together with the support of on-call firefighters from Leamington Spa.

The bicycle will remain in place for the next few days (image via WCC)

Speaking about the design and construction of the straw bale bike, Seb Burch said: "We're really happy to have been involved with this project and that our straw bale bike was featured frequently in the coverage of the Road Races from Warwick."

James Sewry added: "It was certainly a challenge to deliver this on such tight timescales but fantastic to see it all come together for the amazing events at the weekend.

"We'd like to say a huge thank you to the crew from Leamington Fire Station and everyone else who gave their time to help make our design become a reality."

Once removed the straw will be taken to Warwick Castle with the fragments remaining on the ground biodegrading naturally and the material used for the wheels will be donated to local schools to be used in arts and crafts.

Cllr Heather Timms, WCC portfolio holder for environment, climate and culture, said: "We are very proud of our involvement in the national graduate development programme for local government and the graduates that are placed with us.

"Seb and James are fantastic examples of the calibre of participants in the programme.

"These two members of staff are just starting out on their careers in local government, and they got stuck into this particular challenge with plenty of enthusiasm and persistence, which resulted in the creation of a visual icon that was viewed around the world as part of coverage of the road races."