The iconic Man Engine, which drew crowds of thousands last year, is appealing for votes after reaching the finals of the National Lottery Awards.

The Man Engine is competing against six others in the best arts project category. The project beat off competition from over 1,300 organisations to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, the annual search for the UK’s favourite National Lottery-funded projects.

The project with the most votes will be crowned the winner and will receive a £5,000 cash prize to spend on their project, a trophy, and will attend a star-studded awards ceremony to be broadcast on BBC One in September.

Last summer a colossal mechanical tin miner steamed the length of the Cornish mining landscape. People across the county poured into town centres, onto remote cliff-tops and around iconic engine houses to greet him. Celebrating the Cornish Mining Landscape’s World Heritage status, the colossal Man Engine is the largest mechanical puppet ever to be built in Britain.

Will Coleman from Golden Tree Productions said: "We were delighted when The Man Engine was nominated for a National Lottery Award, and we are even more pleased now that he has reached the final public voting round.

“When he steamed through the Cornish Mining Landscape, our colossal mechanical tin miner unearthed a deep-rooted vein of pride and resilience running the length of the land. Nearly one-in-three of the entire population of Cornwall came together to celebrate our mining heritage last summer.

“It will be wonderful if everyone continues to support the Man Engine by voting for us as the UK’s best Arts project in the National Lottery Awards.”

To vote for The Man Engine, go to lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or call 0844 836 9676 and follow the campaign on Twitter, #NLAwards. Voting runs until midnight on July 27.