PEOPLE power was the force behind moving a gigantic sculpture which can be seen for miles.

The bamboo structure, which will act as a marker for a project to build an extinct species memorial, was moved from Royal Manor Arts College to Bowers Quarry on Portland by 100 volunteers.

At more than 60ft high, the sculpture in the shape of characteristic local fossil the ‘Portland Screw’, could be seen by the eyes of the thousands of spectators at the Nothe.

It was the brainchild of Dutch artist Antoon Versteegde and the move was spearheaded by the Mass Extinction Monitoring Observatory (MEMO).

Sculptor Sebastian Brooke, of MEMO said: “It was brilliant.

“At first, it was all a little touch and go because we really needed 100 people to pick the sculpture up and they were turning up slowly – we kept thinking: ‘Are we going to get enough?’ “There was a charity match going on nearby and when we thought we nearly had enough people, I approached them to see if they would help.

“They were brilliant – some of the batting team who were still yet to bat even joined in.

“Someone texted me to say you could see the sculpture at Bowers all the way from the Nothe.”

The sculpture was moved in a procession featuring junk percussion by local musician James Kimber.

The MEMO bell was also rung on the clifftop when the structure was in place.

Mr Brooke estimated that it weighs about half a tonne, which, when divided by 100 people, is the equivalent of carrying two bags of sugar.

He said: “It didn’t seem that heavy when there were 100 of us picking it up.

“It was real people power – the structure is about 60ft by 30ft at the base – no vehicle could have carried something of that size and shape.

“I’m very proud of everybody that took part.

“This project was all about people power and everyone coming together. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

The observatory and biodiversity education centre, for which the sculpture is a marker, will stand on a cliff on the edge of Bowers overlooking the Jurassic Coast. A board of trustees for the project is being established and funding streams investigated, with work due to start in 18 months.