A TELEVISION programme inspired a Bewdley man to recreate in miniature an enduring symbol of the Second World War.

Kidderminster-born Colin Evans, a retired construction industry site agent, made a model of the Bridge on the River Kwai that was on show at Bewdley's St Anne's Church over last weekend.

It was among Second World War-themed exhibits marking the 60th anniversary of VE Day.

The project was a labour of love for Mr Evans, 76, of Cleobury Road. He estimated he had spent 100 hours, over five weeks, working on its construction, starting in February.

It was the first time he had turned his hand to model-making since he put together models of aircraft when he was a child.

He improvised on the raw material for the Kwai bridge, constructing it out of wood from an old chest of drawers.

Mr Evans, who worked for the former Foster and Wise in Kidderminster and Bray Construction in Cleobury Mortimer, recently joined the Royal British Legion and is now vice-chairman of the organisation's Bewdley branch.

When he heard that St Anne's Church was planning to mount its VE Day exhibition, Mr Evans explained: "I said 'if you've got a bit of space, I will make a model'."

It was the programme on the Bridge on the River Kwai that prompted him to recreate the bridge. "I thought 'that's it, that's what I will do,' he said.

The model was painted by his brother-in-law, David Brook, also of Bewdley.

Mr Evans was a leading aircraftsman with the signals section of the RAF when he carried out his national service between 1947 and 1950.

During that time, he was stationed in Sri Lanka - then known as Ceylon - where the movie, Bridge on the River Kwai, starring Alec Guinness, was filmed.

Mr Evans, who is married and has a daughter, also served in Singapore and Malaysia.

He is considering following up his first model-making project by building a miniature reconstruction of the Dambusters raid.