An Aladdin's lamp has brought a touch of Arabia to a garage.

The garage, Aladdin Oxford Ltd, in Hayfield Road, Oxford, has had a lamp carved out of Cotswold stone for a pillar at its entrance.

The piece of stone was taken from a wall at the entrance that fell down and was replaced by bricks.

Sculptor Daniel Evans, 26, of Merewood Avenue, Sandhills, Oxford, used a photograph of an Arabian lamp and pictures from children's story books to design the lamp.

He said: "This was quite a big commission for me and I really enjoyed it. It was quite interesting.

"The stone was quite soft and I used chisels and grinders to sculpt it."

Kelvin Chambers, managing director of the garage, said: "When we re-built the wall, it looked a bit bland and the guys just decided that it would be a good idea to have a lamp. It is certainly different.

"We are slowly doing the place up and you have got to start somewhere."

Story date: Saturday 23 October

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