A WELDER has turned his hand to making garden ornaments from scrap metal after his work dried up.

Peter Davies, 58, from Cross Keys has been making the pieces out of items such as old spanners, nuts and bolts, for 18 months.

It started when he was living in Cornwall, where he had a welding workshop.

He said: “People kept pulling into my drive, so I built a full-size replica of myself and put a ‘no parking’ sign on it to deter people.

“Then when I was packing my workshop up to move to Pontywaun a year ago, I realised how much scrap metal I had and just started playing with it.”

After moving to live with his mother, he has been looking for work.

He said: “Since I’ve been here, I’ve made dogs, cats, mice and even a dragon that are in my mother’s garden.”

He has been working with Bron Afon’s Digital Inclusion Team and members of Afon Youth to help him turn his hobby into a business.

He said: “This year, I hope to make a living from something I really enjoy doing.”

To buy a piece, email

padavies20@gmail.com