AN historic relic of Caerphilly's mining legacy is to be transformed into a striking new sculpture at Oakdale Business Park.

A huge steel winding wheel that once formed part of a pithead winding gear will go on show at the entrance to the park.

The sheave, which has been lying at the Celynen colliery site near Newbridge since it closed in 1989, has been kindly donated by Axiom Ltd -- the company that now owns the land.

The structure, commissioned by Caerphilly County Borough Council, has been transported to a fabricator where it will be cut into pieces and form the main feature of an impressive new piece of artwork.

Last year, schoolchildren and residents in Oakdale helped the council select the winning design which is entitled 'Turn, Turn Again' by local artist Steve Welchman.

The design will use three sections of the sheave to represent the three shafts of the former Oakdale Colliery.

Cllr Allan Pritchard, deputy leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, was at the site recently to watch the sheeve being removed.

He said: "The new sculpture will be a fitting tribute to the industry of the past and a celebration of the future -- the wording will reflect this and the inscription will translate 'from the darkness let there be light."