THE lives of the 23 Chinese cocklers who drowned in Morecambe Bay in 2004 are to be commemorated by a work of art.

Vicki Eden has spent months on the sands of the Bay creating a February 5, 2004' ceramic installation.

Each of 23 ceramic pieces is painted with the names of the drowned cocklers - a task which took months to complete.

An art teacher at Casterton School, Mrs Eden is originally from Morecambe, where she has family roots in the fishing industry.

She says that when the ceramic forms are complete they will be laid out like stepping stones at Hest Bank to symbolically bridge the gap' between the cocklers' communities in China and people around the bay.

She hopes that a 24-hour outdoor exhibition on the sands of Hest Bank may also take place in future, with the possibility of the clay slabs being left to wash away with the tide.

"When news about the tragedy broke I hadn't been sleeping well. I was downstairs with a cup of tea and the TV on while the news was breaking, it had a big impact on me," she says.

"I was brought up in Morecambe with roots that go far back into the history of the town and the fishing industry. I have lived all my life within just a few miles of it, apart from two years spent teaching in Thailand.

"The connection between the Far East and my home means the cockling tragedy had great significance to me."

Although Mrs Eden, who owns contemporary pottery company Eden Ceramics, with her husband Mike, has not yet contacted any of the families of those who died, she hopes they will one day see photographs of her work.

She says the last few slabs could include printings of reports from the conclusion of the trial, which is presently taking place at Preston Crown Court.