A SCALE model depicting one of the most tragic days of the First World War has been donated to a historical society.

Brighton and Hove City Councillor Lee Wares spent close to 200 hours over six months painstakingly building and painting the diorama – a 3D model – of a battle known as the Day Sussex Died.

The battle, a diversionary tactic in northern France to draw enemy fire in advance of the opening of the Battle of the Somme, claimed the lives of more than 350 Sussex infantrymen.

Cllr Wares donated his lovingly crafted model to the Friends of Shoreham Fort yesterday.

It will now be included in tours of the 19th century fortification and taken to schoolchildren who are learning about the Great War.

Cllr Wares said: “It probably took about 150 to 200 hours over a period of about six months.

“Tim Loughton MP said recently he thinks while he’s in the bath, well I think while I’m doing this.

“It’s like painting or knitting for other people in that respect I suppose. While I’m doing it I can be thinking about a report or planning the next day or even writing a speech in my head.

“And I find it quite rewarding because at the end I’ve made something.”

The scene is a combination of prefabricated models which Cllr Wares has assembled and painted and other elements he has made from scratch.

The pools of muddy water, which are such a hallmark of trench warfare, are created from a resin which sets hard.

He created the trench ladders, signage, blankets and barbed wire by first looking at photographs taken during the war and then forming the items in the same way the real-sized equivalents would have been made.

He said: “I’ve built it all the same way it would have been made for real so it all looks exactly like what it would have looked.

“The posters on the walls are taken from photographs taken then and then I’ve coloured them and reduced them down in size.”

Cllr Wares, a dedicated model-maker, said he was inspired to recreate the Day Sussex Died after a talk to the council from Amanda Scales from Brighton’s Royal Pavilion and Museums.

She spoke about setting up a permanent memorial to the battle.

A previous model of his which was donated to Patcham Memorial Hall was auctioned to raise money for the building’s roof.

Cllr Wares presented his diorama to a First World War re-enacter in full battle dress.

It will now become a permanent exhibition at Shoreham Fort.