A "FLYING saucer" will be built on a former landfill site after councillors gave the artwork the go-ahead.

The artwork - called "Halo" - on hills above Haslingden is part of the Panopticons project aimed at creating sculptures across East Lancashire offering panoramic views.

All four pieces of art are now on track to be completed by next year.

The first of the Panopticons' sculptures, Colourfields, has opened in Blackburn's Corporation Park and work is almost complete on Pendle's Atom, being constructed on the car park in the Laneshawbridge to Haworth road.

Work on Burnley's Singing Ringing Tree, which is to be sited overlooking the town at Crown Point, looks set to start in the next few months after it received backing from councillors earlier this year.

And construction of the Rossendale's Halo, which will look like a flying saucer and overlook the A56 and Haslingden from a position on Top o' Slate, should start as early as this autumn.

Work on the sculpture at the former landfill tip site will begin in the next few weeks.

All the structures are built as shelters, viewing platforms or beacons.

The Halo will feature a 25m-diameter, circular steel structure, raised off the ground on a tripod, housing a solar array, self-powered cameras and lighting.

The structure will be clad in white photo-reflective material to ensure that it can be seen from miles around.

Carole Todd, head of street scene and liveability in Rossendale, said: "The Halo will be the gateway Panopticon into East Lancashire."