TWO ten-foot cannons took centre stage outside Bradford City Hall earlier today as part of an exhibition to mark World Heritage Day.

The guns were making a temporary appearance before being moved to Roberts Park in Saltaire, where they will be officially unveiled this weekend.

People were able to get close to the cannons, take selfies, and learn more about their history at the Bradford Council event.

In 1871 the founder of Saltaire, Sir Titus Salt, bought two cannons, which were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, as original features for his newly created Saltaire Park.

The cannons, one of which was fired during the Battle of Trafalgar, remained in the park until they were again needed by the nation, this time to be melted down for Britain’s war effort during World War II.

The Council has decided to celebrate this heritage by reintroducing two cannons from the 19th century to the park to replace the original guns.

The pair were produced at the Low Moor Ironworks in Bradford in around 1846, but were never used in battle, as they were retained by the company for display at their foundry.

When the foundry closed in the late 1950s, the cannons went to Rotherham before returning to Bradford in the 1980s at the gates of the Bradford Council-run Industrial Museum.

The 68-pounder cannons have now been professionally restored and with the help of National Lottery funding are now seated on new specially-commissioned replica military carriages.

The cannons have been grit blasted and painted, with all the work carried out by Ian Barrand, who managed many restoration projects at Bradford’s Cartwright Hall. Pupils from Titus Salt School have also built an information board and cannon ball pyramids which will be used in front of the cannons.

Steve Hartley, strategic director at the Council, said: “These cannons have a fascinating history and it’s great that we have been able to bring them to Centenary Square for people to see before they go on final display at Roberts Park.”

The cannons will be unveiled at the Roberts Park World Heritage Day at midday on Saturday, with the full event running from 10am to 4pm.