Odyssey: The emotional art installation striking a chord across Yorkshire's beaches

The massive 5m figure of woman is the centrepiece of an unusual art installation taking place on beaches along the East Coast over the Bank Holiday and into next week.

Inspired by the epic poem The Odyssey, the giant puppet depicts a survivor of the mythological Trojan War.

Lost on a distant shore, she is rescued by townsfolk, who welcome her with open arms.

While the Greek backstory may not be obvious, the vision of a helpless woman, motionless on the shore at Withernsea, seemed to strike a chord among onlookers.

RNLI crewmember Shaun Foster, who is a crab and lobster fisherman, said: "It's what we are trained to do - we aim to save people. The sea is a dangerous place if you don't treat it with respect."

Karen Harbour lost her brother at the age of four when he went missing and was later recovered by divers from Manchester Ship Canal in the 1960s, an event which has sent huge ripples through her life and that of her family.

She said: "A lot of people don't understand how it affects you. It has affected all the family, generation after generation."

Meanwhile Martin Beaumont from Hessle who'd travelled to Withernsea for the event, said it was "absolutely fantastic", adding: "It's like Gulliver's Travels, because of the scale of it, you can almost believe it's real."

On Saturday April 30 The Survivor will be appearing in Hornsea, on May 1 at Whitby, and on Bank Holiday Monday at Filey.

On Friday May 6 she travels to Bridlington South Bay, and then on May 7, to Scarborough South Bay. On May 8 she will be touring the coast in an open top bus.

Chief executive of Yorkshire Coast BID, Kerry Carruthers, which commissioned the artwork, part of a three-year project, said it would not have been possible "without the many hundreds of residents, businesses and community organisations taking this to their hearts".

Dawn Dyson-Threadgold from Scarborough theatre company Animated Objects, which created the installation, said the "tale of the survivor" was "beautiful , relevant and important, which shows the kindness all people should be treated with".