A NEW sculpture for Bradford city centre remains under wraps after an unveiling ceremony was postponed.

The Baby of the North, by Haworth-based artist Craig Dyson, was due to be revealed outside Bradford Council's Margaret McMillan Tower office block on Saturday.

But Bradford Council, which commissioned the sculpture at a cost of £15,000, has postponed the event indefinitely.

Mr Dyson said the authority had wanted to wait until renovation work at the front of the recently-refurbished building was all complete, as there were still some minor works under way.

A spokesman for the council said a new date for the event was being sought, but this could be delayed by rules limiting the publicity work of public bodies in the weeks leading up to the EU referendum on June 23.

The finished piece – which stands 3.5 metres high on its plinth – includes hundreds of Victorian loom components in a reference to the city's textile heritage.

Its commissioning has led to questions by opposition groups at Bradford Council about the Labour-run authority's spending priorities - as has the £9 million cost of the refurbishment of Margaret McMillan Tower, which was transformed from the condemned Central Library building into new offices for the children's services department.