A world first was unveiled this week - a larger-than-life puppet ‘War Camel.’

The model, designed and created by sculptor Louise Emily Thomas, was inspired by the puppetry used in the West End stage show War Horse.

Shoppers in Cranbrook town centre were stopped in their tracks as the life-like model made trotted through the streets.

Benenden-based charity the Wild Camel Protection Foundation had camel designed and built to promote its cause.

It raises money to support the wild double-humped camels at a breeding centre in Mongolia and Ms Thomas’ model certainly received a positive reaction during its premiere to Cranbrook residents.

Louise worked alongside War Horse co-designer Ed Dimbleby of Handspring Puppet Company to design the version.

She said: “I’ve been planning this for quite a few months now and over the past two months I started putting it together, and everything has now come together. Modelling the face was difficult.

“I’ve got so many sacks of camel hair that I can use to replace the hair, its from a farm up in Warwickshire.”

The double-humped creation, named Gobi, met excited locals at the junction between Stone Street and the High Street before moving to the farm shop in Swattenden Lane.

Gobi will now appear at the foundation’s race day due to be held in Hole Park, Rolvenden on Sunday, September 7 where it will rub shoulders with real camels.

Even the charity founder John Hare was not allowed to see the model until it was unveiled as Ms Thomas refused to release any artistic impressions or pictures leaving excited locals in suspense.

The camel consisted of moving lips and eyelids and charity founder John Hare said: “War Horse is a puppet but when you look at it long enough you start to think it is a real animal. This one [has] moving lips and eyelids.

”It’s great what Louise has done for the charity, it's magnificent.”

Visitors to the Camel Races at Hole Park can watch pig racing, mongolian wresting and even take part in camel rides.

For more information on the Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF) visit www.wildcamels.com