Would ewe believe it? Baa-bara's feeling sheepish

The artwork, officially called the Wolf (in Sheep's Clothing), has become a cherished quirk of the city centre, though many do not even realise it's there.

The huge mechanical sheep, nicknamed Baa-bara, emerges from the balcony of the art gallery every hour before opening up to reveal a red-eyed wolf.

However, due to technical issues, Baa-bara's a little under the weather at the moment and is unable to make the daily appearances.

It was commissioned in 1999 as part of the Millennium celebrations and has taken pride of place above Lichfield Street ever since it was installed in Spring 2000.

It even comes with its own sound effects with the bleating of lambs and the howl of wolf ringing out from the gallery balcony every hour. Wolfie used to be introduced with an eerie plume of smoke but frequent calls to the fire service by concerned passers-by put an end to that.

It has been designed to survive the elements and can withstand gusts of wind up to 100mph before the mechanism will automatically cut out.

But due to circuit board problems, Baa-bara is no longer rising high enough to activate the sensors which release the wolf. And it is also running five to 10 minutes late.

Staff at the gallery are contacting artist, ex-Wolverhampton School of Art student Andy Plant who designed and made the piece to diagnose the problems and provide a quote to fix it.

The campaign to raise funds to fix Baa-bara was started by a group of former Northicote School pupils who meet in the gallery cafe each month.

The group call themselves the '55ers because they were the Class of 1955.

Gill Burton, who attends the group, said: "We were concerned about Baa-bara's state of disrepair and thought how great it would be if she could get a makeover to return her to her former glory.

"But unfortunately it seems the work will be very costly at a time when the art gallery is desperate for funds."

The artwork was inspired by the role Wolverhampton played in the wool trade, which is represented in the crest of the old borough. The wolf acts as a counterpoint and as well as being the nickname of the city's football team, ties in with the old saying 'a wolf in sheep's clothing'.

The automatic sheep is a complicated machine for so simple an appearance.

Video courtesy of David Ashcroft (htttp://www.wolveswild.net)

It had to be designed so that it was not too heavy or large for the balcony, could not open a the wrong moment and damage the balustrade, be weather-proof and sensitive to high winds that might blow back the steel sides.

It needed to be able to go off regularly, but not through the night and have synchronised smoke and animal noises.

A ram's head indicator is situated on the wall in the foyer, to mark the time until the next showing.

The sheep was part of a series of craft commissions funded by the Arts Council to mark the Millennium. A few days later, Wolverhampton was awarded city status.

Donations to fix Baa-bara can be made through the Friends of Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Forms are available at the gallery reception or online but must specify that the donation is for the sheep repair.