THE Baby of the North has had something of a premature delivery, it has emerged, after its covering was removed before any official unveiling ceremony.

The new £15,000 sculpture for Bradford city centre has been placed outside the former central library, now the council offices Margaret McMillan Tower.

An official unveiling had been due to take place last Saturday, but the council postponed the event indefinitely.

Today, the sheeting covering the sculpture was removed with no fanfare but a spokesman for Bradford Council declined to explain what had happened.

The sculptor, Haworth-based Craig Dyson, said as far as he was aware, some kind of unveiling ceremony was still expected to take place at some point.

The commissioning of the sculpture - funded jointly by the council and government - had raised eyebrows, with some politicians questioning the authority’s spending priorities.