A piece of public art in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral cordoned off as it has become a danger in the sunshine has been given a fresh makeover.

Winchester City Council has replaced the "emergency" fencing around Luminous Motion - a reactive light sculpture installed in 2002 - with a wooden alternative.

The authority said it made the switch so the overheating artwork was "more in keeping with the overall appearance of the cathedral grounds".

A spokesperson said: "For the safety of our residents and visitors, we took precautionary measures to cordon off the sculpture during extremely hot weather conditions as the surface can get hot to touch.

"In order to quickly make the area safe, emergency fencing was placed around the sculpture – we’ve now replaced this with fencing that’s made of materials more in keeping with the overall appearance of the cathedral grounds."

Civic chiefs first fenced off the sculpture last year to stop people getting burnt, and it has taken similar measure as the mercury has risen over the past few weeks.

It is unclear whether anyone has actually been hurt by the sculpture during its 20 year residency in the city.

The work of artist Peter Freeman, Luminous Motion was erected as part of the Winchester Light Art Project.

The six metre column of mirrored stainless steel is pierced by 500 fibre-optic light points which can be triggered by members of the public sending a text message.

A message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support.

Subscribing means you have unrestricted access to the latest news and reader rewards - all with an advertising-light website.

Don't take my word for it – subscribe here to see for yourself.

Looking to advertise an event? Then check out our free events guide.

Want to keep up with the latest news and join in the debate? You can find and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.