A FREE parade of a giant mechanical miner will come to Blaenavon on the first leg of its Wales-wide tour.

The Man Engine will go from Big Pit to the Ironworks, via the Gilchrist Thomas Estate, on Sunday, April 8.

The parade route ends at the Ironworks, and to see the centrepiece of the “Man Engine Cymru: forging a nation” event, tickets will cost £3.

Lord Elis-Thomas AM, the culture, tourism and sport minister, said: “Life in the Valleys, as in many other industrial communities across the UK, revolved around iron, copper and coal for hundreds of years.

"The arrival of the Man Engine in south Wales marks a unique chance for the people of Wales to reflect on and remember their industrial heritage.

“The south Wales Valleys is an ideal location for the mechanical giant to visit and I urge everyone to come and see this culturally significant reminder of our mining heritage in Wales.”

Creator Will Coleman said: "We’re delighted that we’re bringing him to south Wales where mines, collieries, trams and trains once dominated the landscape.

“Our big boy is setting off in the footsteps of the Cornish Cousin Jacks.

“We have a global ambition to take the Man Engine to all the significant mining and industrial heritage sites across the world, so bringing him to south Wales with its major industrial heritage status, is an ideal stop on his UK-wide journey.

“We can’t wait to meet all the people of the Valleys and have the Man Engine share the stories and the significance of the area’s rich mining heritage.”

For details, go to themanengine.co.uk/.