A BRITISH pensioner has spent 12 years creating an incredible Christmas nativity scene out of corks collected from wine bottles.

    Kevin Kay, 72, from Bolton in Greater Manchester, spent up to two hours every day perfecting his masterpiece.

    He sourced items from far and wide to create his scene, which features figures of baby Jesus along with Mary, Joseph and the Three Wise Men, with most of the figures coming from the island of Gozo in Malta.

    Kay’s festive centerpiece also includes figurines of Roman guards, stable workers and a camel pulling a truck — made from a champagne cork.

    Intriguingly, the crib is even made of wood taken from part of the Silent Night Chapel in Austria, which marks the place where the Christmas carol “Silent Night” was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818.

    Kay insisted that he will use anything in his sculptures but prefers the materials to be recycled.

    He said, “All the corks I get from friends and neighbors. You would be surprised by the numbers that people give me.

    “The cork is extremely strong so helps when it is all glued together but I like to use any materials that can be recycled.

    “Cutting the cork is very time-consuming as you have to keep sharpening the knife.”

    Previous works by Kay include a model of spinning pioneer Samuel Crompton’s birthplace, made mainly of cardboard and grass, and another of Hadrian’s Wall made from scrap wood.

    (SD-Agencies)