AN opticians in Cirencester welcomed Ian Anderson of classic rock band Jethro Tull to unveil a hare sculpture for the Cotswold Hare Trail.

R.J. Holmes’ sculpture was decorated by Cirencester artist Mike Smith and was based on the band’s 1973 song The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles.

Ian was joined by Mike and Cirencester Hare Festival and Cotswold Hare Trail founder Florence Beetlestone on Friday (May 12) for the unveiling.

"I watched the music video over and over, it all came from that,” said Mike, who has now designed eight hares for the Hare Festival’s different incarnations since 2014.

“It’s very weird and it’s very early 70s, but it grew on me.

“It’s all about a hare who lost his spectacles, but it doesn’t matter because he had a spare pair,” he said.

“You don't see a lot of the hare in the video but he looks a bit like that. Patches all over his trousers and big buttons,” he added.

The hare also has an optician-style letter chart on his chest.

Mike said it took about a week to complete and since then he has designed another hare for a travel agents in Bourton-on-the-Water for the Cotswold Trail.

Ian, lead singer of Jethro Tull, which was formed in 1967 in Luton, recently got back from performing a number of gigs in Australia and is a friend of Hilary Young, manager of R.J. Holmes.

He said he was approached about four months ago by the opticians regarding the idea for the hare.

“I think originally they were looking to see if I would decorate it,” said Ian, whose son-in-law, Andrew Lincoln, stars in The Walking Dead.

“I had to tell them, the thing is I'm away touring this time of year.

“I sort of volunteered my son-in-law and his two children who might like to do it. But he'd gone back to Atlanta filming The Walking Dead, so he's not around, and my grandchildren of course are at school, or they're over in America to see their father.”

Florence Beetlestone announced at the unveiling that all 85 five-foot hares, as well as the 22 smaller hares, on the Cotswold Trail will be auctioned off for charity on October 6 at Cheltenham Race Course.

“It’s getting manic,” she said. “People are starting to talk about next year now.”

She said the festival, which began in Cirencester in 2014, “was just initially a one-off but because it was so successful people kept saying you must do it again”.

“So we did smaller versions in ’15 and ’16, preparing for the 2017 festival with the big hares back again,” she said.

“It takes a lot of planning – two years for a big hare year with the auction,” she added.

The Cotswold Hare Trail 2017 launched on March 25 and will run until September 10.