CONSTRUCTION has started on a cardboard 16-metre high version of Stuttgart's 10th century castle in Victoria Square as part of a region wide art's project.

The Lost Castles project is being led by St Helens Council and local arts organisation the Heart of Glass, with the Stuttgart Old Castle partially recreated to commemorate the 70th twinning anniversary between St Helens and the German city of Stuttgart.

The big build will run throughout today and requires 150 volunteers and will take around 11 hours to complete.

Once erected, the castle will stand proudly in Victoria Square outside St Helens Town Hall until Sunday, August 12 before it is dismantled, with the cardboard then taken away to be recycled.

Volunteers are also required to participate in the demolition between 1pm to 4pm on the Sunday.

Debbie Chan, one of the producers at the Heart of Glass, said: "We need castle builders from all over St Helens, we are probably going to be here up about 7pm and we need as many strong bodies as possible.

"It's been really exciting, we've been in the town hall since Sunday building the pieces, we need volunteers to come down today and then it will be up on Saturday for people to enjoy before it is knocked down on Sunday at 2pm and it will be recycled.

"It's really exciting seeing all of these people turning up and it's going to take over this square.

"There's more than 1,500 boxes involved and the final castle will be just under two tonnes. I think it will be worth all the work when we see it in the square."