A WORLD renowned street artist has turned his hand to recycling waste plastic.

A little bird has told us that urban artist Bordalo II has created a giant sculpture of a seagull at Fat Boy Slim’s Big Beach Cafe at Hove Lagoon.

The city’s bin men have been picking up junk plastic and storing it in DJ Norman Cook’s garage ready for the artist’s visit this week.

Over two days Lisbon-based Artur Bordalo turned discarded toys, car bumpers and broken wheelie bins into the five metre wide seabird soaring out of the cafe.

Bordalo said he hoped to inspire people to think about how much plastic they waste.

He told The Argus: “I make public art. I think it is important when you are working in the street, where it is so visible to have something to say, not only to make something beautiful with trash.

“It is also about people looking at it and being ecologically aware.

“I’m using plastic to create animals to show the relationship between the victims and the materials that kill them.

“Seagulls might be something iconic for this city but for me it is more important to see that they are ocean plastic.”

Norman said: “This works for me on so many levels. Having one of my favourite living artists come over and work here is just amazing.

“It is something to make the place look beautiful.

“Seagulls are important to me and the city because of our football team but it is also an important message about single use plastic.

“It would have taken us about two years to find enough plastic waste on the beach to create some thing of the scale of Bordalo’s work, so we put out the request to City Clean and when the drivers picked things up they saved them for us and I’ve been storing them in my garage.”

Bordalo’s creation is a major coup for Brighton and Hove as it is the first time his work has been on display in Engand.

Those enjoying the playground and Hove Lagoon – and those passing along Kingsway will get a bird’s eye view – of the sculpture and it is hoped that visitors to Brighton Festival will take the opportunity to see the work.

He next plans to travel to Brazil and is curating a festival of street art in the Canaries.

Praising the Hove DJ’s contribution to his graffiti art, he said: “When working in the public eye you have a public responsibility.

“I think it is great that Norman as a well known artist and character is using his influence to promote something like this. “