LIVERPOOL’S handful of surviving carters were at the unveiling of a monument which recognised the tremendous contribution made by the city’s working horses.

The ceremony at Mann Island marked the culmination of a 10-year long struggle to raise funds for a statue dedicated to Liverpool’s hard-working dock horses.

The sculpture, Waiting, is so called because it shows a dock horse waiting to set off on its next journey.

Created by equine sculptor Judy Boyt, the monument commemorates the city’s faithful carters and their horses. They played a vital role in carrying provisions from the docks to warehouses and shops during Liverpool’s heyday as a commercial port.

May 1 was chosen for the unveiling because it was the traditional date of the May Day horse parades through the city.

Four heavy horses from the British Shire Horse Society – who donated £3,000 towards the £120,000 fundraising target – were present for the ceremony, witnessed by ex-carters and senior representatives of National Museums Liverpool (NML).

Only three of the original 10-strong group of carters who launched the campaign are now left, and all are aged in their 70s and 80s.