A YORK sculptor who numbers Prince Charles and Lord Rothschild among his fans has unveiled his latest masterpiece, depicting the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh carved in stone.

Andrian Melka, who moved to England from Albania, is a stonemason at Dick Reid's studio in Fishergate.

He came to England after winning a Getty Scholarship two years ago to train at the Carpenters' School in London.

While there he won a gold medal and the Freedom of the City of London in his first year, and in his second year he came to the Fishergate studio to gain practical experience in the field.

Dick employed Andrian 18 months ago and has never looked back. In addition to the two commissions he did for the Prince of Wales and Lord Rothschild, Andrian has undertaken a piece for Whixley Hall and is currently in the process of reproducing a full-scale sculpture of Bernini's Neptune.

Dick said: "I am a trustee of the Prince of Wales Architectural Studio and the Prince has asked me to keep in touch with him regarding Andrian's progress. He has a piece of Andrian's work at Highgrove."

"We'd like to thank the Evening Press for supplying us with such good reference photos of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. These provided the research material for the corbels of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, which are being delivered to Chichester Cathedral today."