Nelson's brighter outlook: artificial sun banishes the January blues in square

Commuters struggling with Monday morning blues were delighted today as a gigantic glowing sunrise transformed Trafalgar Square.

The two-and-a-half ton work of art was erected to replicate dawn at 6.51.

The "sun" flooded the square with four million lumens of light - the equivalent of 60,000 bulbs. It was created to produce summer sunshine at one of the darkest times of the year and passers-by were encouraged to relax in deck chairs.

Property developer Niall Ingham, 25, from Battersea, said: "It's fantastic. January is the most depressing month and this has really worked to cheer me up." Maxine Green, 29, an artist from Norbury, added: "I want to take it home with me and have it to wake me up in the morning. I knew this was happening today so I came here in my swimwear to pretend it was a summer's day."

The installation, which took six months to create, was designed by artists' collective Greyworld who were commissioned by Tropicana as part of its Brighter Mornings campaign. It is 30,000 times bigger than a football.

Greyworld founder Andrew Shoben said: "Just to watch everybody walk past and grin is the absolute reward for months of hard work." It will extend "daylight" in the square until 7.33pm.