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These detailed sculptures have been created by an artist who works entirely using her sense of touch - after she lost her sight two years ago.

The sculptures of police dogs and horses, which have been created to honour their services, are the work of Cardiff -born Branwyn Owens, 42.

Branwyn used to “paint and draw everything” that caught her eye until she lost her sight in just one day two years ago after suffering catastrophic bleeding on the brain.

Branwyn, who now lives in Yorkshire, said: “When I lost my sight it was instant. One morning I woke up seeing with clear 20/20 vision and by the evening I would never see again.

“I could no longer remember what red or blue looked like, my mind’s eye had shut down. When I tried to visualise anything it was just black and white. Even when I tried to remember images or things as simple as shapes - they evaded me.”

Inspired by film

“When I could see I loved to draw and paint. I always had a pocket sketchbook in my side pocket and I would sketch my travels instead of taking photographs.”

Branwyn said she gave up on art all together after she went blind. Instead, she focused on the “mundane” tasks of learning to eat, read, and dress herself again.

But after being inspired by a film about a blind person who made busts of human heads just by touch, Branwyn ordered 25kg of terracotta clay and decided to “get her hands dirty”.

Branwyn uses just her hands to feel objects, people and animals and then sculpts exact replicas from memory. She sculpts everything she touches in great detail and once made a white clay rose that included tiny veins on every single petal.

Her sculptures, made under the name of Clay of Cymru, have since impressed art collectors and film directors across the world.

She is now using her incredible talents to remember the “unsung heroes” of the police force - police dogs and horses.

She is sculpting horses, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers and Spaniels that have served with the West Yorkshire Police and is selling bronze busts of the animals to raise money for the K9 Memorial Fund.

"They are unsung heroes"

The fund was started by police officer Paul Nicholls, who hopes to build a memorial to honour police dogs at the National Memorial Arboretum.

He said: “I don’t think there’s anybody in the country that hasn’t been kept safe by the work of police dogs.

“People think of them as snarling and barking - but really they are unsung heroes that put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe.

“In Australia and America, police dogs get state funerals and parades but all we have over here is a single plaque to remember them. A proper memorial would help raise awareness of all they do for the UK.”

Branwyn’s sculptures will be on sale at the end of October.

Paul added: “I’ve been completely overwhelmed by Branwyn’s generous help. I can’t get my head around how she manages to do what she does - it’s just incredible.”

For more information, visit http://www.k9memorial.org.uk/ and follow Branwyn’s progress on Twitter @Clay_of_Cymru