A RHYL fundraiser is planning on taking his latest venture directly to the door of 10 Downing Street.

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal organiser Richard Kendrick has teamed up with Dyserth sculptor Ian Murray and the MP for the Vale of Clwyd Chris Ruane to create a wooden statue, inspired by the novel War Horse, to educate Rhyl's school pupils on the service of Britain's horses during World War One.

Mr Kendrick is currently in the process of raising £3,500 for the 6 foot statue, as well applying for permission to bring it to the home of the Prime Minister to raise awareness of the treatment of veterans in the UK.

Mr Kendrick said: "What with it being the 100 year anniversary of the end of the war, I wanted to help teach the children in Rhyl schools about the town's history with war horses.

"Not many people know this, but a lot of the horses were drafted from around the UK by people in Rhyl. I don't think they would have recruited Warrior, the horse that the novel is based on, but they were responsible for thousands of similar horses going to war.

"The plan is to take it around schools along the coast and maybe give it a semi-permanent home in either the botanical gardens or Rhyl High if either are interested. I'm hoping we can make something that will last another 100 years.

"I also want to make a statement about the level of support veterans are receiving from the government, which Chris is kindly helping me with."

The statue is a homage in the vein of Joey from the 1982 Michael Morpugo novel, which was has been adapted into an award winning play in 2007 and an acclaimed film in 2011 by Steven Spielberg.

The statue is intended to be as lifelike as possible, inspired by a design at Ascot racecourse, tailored with an exposed rib cage to illustrate the level of starvation horses in service of the war effort experienced. It will be carved in oak and coated in a special fire resistant paint.

Mr Kendrick added: "More than one million horses were sent to the front in World War One, but only about 77,000 came home.

"The horses weren't fed, and when they died they were either left by the side of the road or eaten."

To realise the level of detail required for the statue, Mr Kendrick has enlisted the skills of chainsaw artist Murray, who in the past carved a seven-foot Darth Vader statue for Rhyl Star Wars actor Spencer Wilding for the the town's premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.

The Journal reported in May of Murray, a veteran of conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, stepping in to carve a replacement of a silent soldier memorial that was decapitated on Rhyl promenade.

Chris Ruane MP for Vale of Clwyd said: “I know many schools across the constituency have been learning about World War One and the War Horse story and this is an excellent way of maintaining the interest of the school children.

“If there are businesses, individuals or schools in the area which can help with the fundraising for the project I would urge them to get involved.

“It is also wonderful to see Ian Murray, one of my former pupils from my teaching days at Ysgol Mair, put his woodcarving skills to use in this project."

Anyone interested in donating can contact Richard Kendrick on 01745 350385.