AN artist known as “the sculptural Banksy” has been leaving small casts of angel faces on beaches.

Brian Mander aka The Tempest, The Shore, from Brighton, is well known for his street art installations in the city.

Now he has been surprising people with his sculptural gifts on the pebbles between Bexhill and Eastbourne.

A cherub head was discovered on the beach opposite the View Hotel in Eastbourne by Erroll Spinks and his partner Louise Batts.

The miniature head was nestled in the shingle, appearing on one side to look like a sea urchin and on another an angelic face.

The cherubs are popping up in a variety of public places from beaches to church doorways and it is impossible to predict where they will turn up.

The finds were linked to Brian Mander when he announced them for sale on popular online marketplace Etsy.

He made them as a contribution to the Coastal Currents Festival in September and 135 “urchins” were scattered along the shoreline.

The urchins, less than four inches wide, are made to fit into the palm of your hand and are made from strong weatherproof plaster. Brian said: “They were meant as keepsakes to be chanced upon by beachcombers and walkers, to find and keep safe. The urchins that didn’t make it to the beach are in need of appreciative homes.

“The urchin is the gift of being, a representation of emergent life, a manifestation of fate’s dispensation, a knot on a strand of life’s complex web, a conjunction of fortuities.

“It is a simple curiosity or a profoundly relevant little thing.”

The street artist has contributed to public arts projects including The Fiveways Artists’ Open Houses in 2017 where he showed an installation at a house in Florence Road, Brighton.

The urchin sculptures are now available from Etsy for £20.