Felsted School pupils helped artist Bruce Munro create a 20,000-light installation to celebrate the RNLI's 200th anniversary.

Art pupils aged 15 to 17 were among 300 volunteers who helped Bruce - himself a former Felsted pupil - work on 'Field of Light'.

The installation is made up of 20,000 fibre optic lights covering 8.6 acres in Salcombe Bay, Devon.

Felsted pupils helping set up the art installationFelsted pupils helping set up the art installation (Image: Felsted School) Pupils 'planted' the light stems and then fitted each one with a frosted glass sphere, which when powered by green energy creates a glowing expanse of countryside.

The lights are visible from the waterfront between dusk and 10pm every day until January 10.

Samara, who is in Lower Sixth at Felsted, said: "We were lucky enough to be ferried across by water taxi to put up and test run the lights, which we all agreed looked truly magical.

"This was an incredible project to be a part of. I have learned that art doesn’t have to be just a sculpture or a piece on paper but can also be something huge - even displayed over an entire field."

The installation celebrates the RNLI's 200th anniversaryThe installation celebrates the RNLI's 200th anniversary (Image: Felsted School) Bruce Munro conceptualised 'Field of Light' more than 30 years ago in Australia, and he has since created the installation in Florida and California in the US, and at Uluru in Australia, but this is his first time the work has been installed in the UK.

Growing up in Salcombe, Bruce witnessed the important work of the RNLI, and described the installation as a piece of art for "everybody".

Members of the public are invited to sponsor a stem, with proceeds going to the RNLI at Salcombe Harbour.

Last year Felsted pupils also helped Bruce install 20,000 glowing lights in the shape of fireflies at a hospice in Wiltshire.

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The RNLI was formed in 1824 by Sir William Hillary, after Lionel Lukin paved the way by designing the first unsinkable boat and patenting it as a lifeboat in 1785.

They began with wooden lifeboats complete with oars and sails, and now use motor-powered all-weather lifeboats with modern technology and communications.

The charity mans 238 lifeboat stations and has lifeguards watching over 239 beaches.