A Bradford Council worker is playing his saxophone on a 22ft plinth as part of an ambitious art project in London’s Trafalgar Square.

David Wilson, the cultural programmes manager at the Council, was one of tens of thousands to apply to take part in Antony Gormley’s Fourth Plinth art projects which began last week.

He said he will decide what to play on the day, but so long as he can make people smile or tap their feet on their way to work then he will be happy.

He said: “I have got 200 songs going through my head at any one time, so I won’t need anything written down.

“I was thinking about starting with Ilkley Moor Baht ‘At to give it a bit of a local flavour.

“But I have written some stuff myself, so if I get stuck for what to play I can improvise or rely on my own stuff.”

Mr Wilson thought some of the volunteers had not provided much entertainment while on the plinth.

He said: “Some of the people that have been up there so far have been a bit dull really.”

Mr Wilson said he was partly inspired to perform on the plinth by one of the greatest sax players, Sonny Rollins, who used to practise on the Williamsburg Bridge, in New York, to avoid upsetting the neighbours.

He said: “There’s a real sense of freedom playing music outdoors.

“What I play and how I play it will depend on the atmosphere of the day – the angle of the shadows, the faces of the people passing by and the morning London breeze.

“Trafalgar Square is a great place for people-watching so I’ll be playing the sax watching the people watching me.”

Mr Wilson started playing at the age of 15 and was loaned the money to buy his first instrument by his sister. He will be performing on the plinth on Tuesday, August 18, from 9am until 10am. The project started on Monday, July 6, and will see a new volunteer take to the plinth every hour for 100 days.

Meanwhile, retired Skipton man David Turner is helping to make history.

Mr Turner has been selected to take part in the project where people will spend an hour alone on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

His stint will be from 5am to 6am on Friday, and he will take up the persona of a “modern Robinson Crusoe beached up on the island of the plinth”.

He said: “We are an island people, and I have always had a passion for islands.

“Books have also occupied a significant part of my life and Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe almost 300 years ago, has further relevance as it is considered to be the first English novel.

“During my hour, apart from exploring my island and enjoying the view, I plan to write a letter to my great-granddaughter which I will place in a bottle and cast off into the ocean of time for her to open in 20 years, when she is 21.”

Watching him will be his daughter Diane Kavanagh, who lives in Preston. Mr Turner, 62, has been a member of Skipton’s University of the Third Age for eight years, being active in the walking, reading and poetry groups.