A long awaited statue of Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer was finally unveiled to the public outside St James’ Park.

The 9ft sculpture, named ‘Local Hero’, was unveiled with the Mark Knopfler song Local Hero blasting out over the loud speakers.

Hundreds of fans turned up for the event as well as former Newcastle United player manager Kevin Keegan.

The bronze artwork, which captures Shearer’s iconic celebration, is situated where St James’ Park meets Barrack Road.

It was shipped over from Shanghai last year and has been in storage in the city since then.

You can look back at updates on this blog as it all happened.