THE creator of the controversial Dreamspace inflatable artwork, which killed two people when it lifted off the ground and crashed, has died.

Maurice Agis was 77 and passed away in hospital in Spain, where he had been living.

It is understood he had been unwell for some time.

Agis’s giant inflatable artwork broke free from its moorings in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, in July, 2006, killing two women and injuring 27 people.

He was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to ensure the safety of members of the public and was fined £10,000.

In August, he had the penalty reduced to £2,500 by three judges at the Court of Appeal.

Durham Police yesterday confirmed the death and said they had received news that he had died in hospital in Spain.

No details have been released of how he died.

Elizabeth Anne Collings, 68, from Seaham, and Claire Furmedge, 38, from Chester-le-Street, were killed when they fell from the huge sculpture in Riverside Park.

Rosie Wright, now six, of Chester-le-Street, suffered a punctured lung, two fractures to her spine and bruising to the brain.

Dreamspace had earlier appeared in Liverpool.

City-based company Brouhaha International, run by Agis’s son, Giles, which was involved in staging the Dreamspace visit to Newcastle, was fined £4,000.