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BBC presenter immortalised in elephant art trail

Weldmar Hospicecare / Lyndon Wall A close-up of a cartoon depicting Steve Harris dressed in orange swimming trunks sitting on the side of a swimming pool and holding a microphone. A tattoo on his shoulder depicts the flag of Dorset in the shape of a Dorset map. A yellow Pudsey teddy bear is peeping over the side of the pool. Weldmar Hospicecare / Lyndon Wall
The cartoon depicts Steve Harris during 2024's Children in Need swimming challenge

A BBC radio presenter has been immortalised in a charity sculpture trail in Dorset.

Stampede by the Sea is a trail of 50 individually decorated elephants, launching on 28 March in Bridport, Lyme Regis and West Bay.

The designs are yet to be unveiled but it has been revealed that Radio Solent's Dorset Breakfast host, Steve Harris, appears on an elephant by cartoonist Lyndon Wall.

The presenter is set to come cheek to cheek with his likeness ahead of the official launch.

Weldmar Hospicecare Six women in blue nursing uniforms gather around a large navy blue elephant decorated with white wave patterns and green and blue sail boatsWeldmar Hospicecare
The trail aims to raise awareness and support for Weldmar Hospicecare

The elephant - named Cartoons - was created in partnership with West Dorset Magazine.

The image on the animal's rump depicts the presenter sitting on the edge of a swimming pool during the radio station's 2024 Children in Need swimming challenge.

The cartoon resembles a photo taken of Harris in 2023 after he had a tattoo marking the 10th anniversary of the Dorset Breakfast show.

He said he was "thrilled" to be featured in the trail.

Steve Harris showing off a tattoo on the back of his shoulder. The tattoo is in the shape of the map of Dorset and is coloured yellow, with a white and red cross, which is the Dorset flag.
The painting resembles a photo of the presenter showing off his Dorset tattoo

He said: "You know how some things happen in your life but, because you're prepared for them, they don't excite you?

"And then you get a message saying someone's painted you on the side of an elephant and it's somehow the most exciting thing that's happened all year.

"We'd already planned, as a family, to get out and see the Stampede - now I can't wait to take my five-year-old and twin two-year-olds to go and see this particular element and surprise them with my topless form."

The free trail, which lasts for eight weeks, aims to raise awareness and support for Weldmar Hospicecare, which provides end-of-life care to adults, and support for their families.

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