A CHEPSTOW firm designed and made a 21 tonne iconic snow globe which has taken pride of place in London.

Architen Landrell tested the structure, which is more than 60ft tall and blows out fake snow, in the car park of its Station Road base to make sure it was perfect for its launch this week.

It is now performing an important function by protecting a statue called Eros in Piccadilly Circus, which is historically a target for vandals, this festive season..

Staff from Architen Landrell, who had to research the right type of snow for the project, saw the globe unveiled on Monday evening at 6pm.

Business development manager Jason Smith said: “I think it has captivated everybody as it’s a cool Christmas feature. It’s exciting, you walk up to it and say ‘wow.”

The base houses eight of some of Europe’s highest resolution LED video screens which will be part of an outdoor advertising campaign by Wildstone.

The snow globe was born after an approach by the City of Westminster Council on behalf of the mayor to the companies involved.