AN imposing sculpture that was created to honour members of the armed forces afflicted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has arrived Exeter Castle as part of a poignant exhibition.

The Abandoned Soldier was transported from Cardiff Castle for the nine-day exhibition, War Art. The 16ft statue was created by artist James Napier and the showcase will include more than 100 pieces of artwork by serving and former members of the armed forces, some of whom suffer from PTSD.

Six rarely seen works by Exeter artist Raya Herzig, a survivor of the Second World War Nazi camps in Poland, will also be a feature of the exhibition.

A crowd of people, including the artists and a city council representative, were at the castle to welcome the commemorative art piece.

The event has been organised by John McDermott, a former member of the Royal Navy and UN military observer in the Falklands, the Gulf wars and Bosnia, Cambodia and Sierra Leone in West Africa.

Mr McDermott is now a full-time painter working in Exeter and formed not-for-profit social enterprise Aftermath PTSD to raise awareness of the condition through art exhibitions.

"This is a marvellous coup," he said. "Not just for the exhibition but for Exeter. The statue honours those who have valiantly fought for their country but are not being treated as the heroes they truly are.

"The artist was inspired by those suffering from the invisible wounds of combat trauma and how badly they were being treated.

"I approached ex-serviceman Mark Christmas, who runs the Abandoned Solider Project, and he immediately knew that the statue should be at the exhibition. The statue symbolises everything that the exhibition is all about.

"When he said yes I felt very emotional about it. It's all being done without any money, all in good will. It felt like a friend passing something on for me to look after for a while."

War Art coincides with the Summer in the City festival and Armed Forces Week.

"It was deeply emotional when it arrived," John continued. "It came in two pieces and when it was up, there were lots of people around waiting and it was very emotional. There were a lot of people in tears."

He added: "The exhibition is one of a kind. It's the first time we've had a public art exhibition featuring all ex-serving and serving members of the armed forces.

"The whole emphasis of the exhibition is to raise national awareness of combat-related trauma but also the survivability of the human spirit. So this will be an uplifting exhibition and shouldn't be missed."

Admission is free for the exhibition, which will run from tomorrow until Sunday, June 26, between 10am and 6.30pm.