New way to water the flowers

It's chucking-out time at the pub and nature calls - a time when most blokes lack a marksman's accuracy in front of the urinal.

However, one artist believes he has found a solution of sorts: making the target as pretty as possible.

Clark Sorensen's flower-inspired urinal sculptures are a far cry from the usual utilitarian offerings of WC giants Armitage Shanks and Ideal Standard.

Users can aim into the mouth of an orchid, tulip, lily, hibiscus, morning glory or even a nautilus shell.

It took the Californian three years of trial and error to perfect his designs. Each one takes between seven and eight months to make because of the lengthy drying process for porcelain.

Mr Sorensen, 47, said: 'I've been working in ceramics and porcelain for a long time. But the idea just sort of blossomed to make urinals into an object of beauty five years ago.'

His creations went on sale for the first time this year and he has sold six to private buyers in Canada and the US.

He has just finished a working exhibition of them in his hometown of San Francisco.

'During the exhibition I plumbed them in so people can have fun flushing them,' he said.

'The way the water flows around them is part of the display. The women especially are very surprised. They are not used to relating to a urinal.

'Lots of women want me to make something for them - either a female urinal or a bidet - but women's clothes aren't designed for urinals. For the moment I'm sticking to men's urinals.'

His pieces cost between £3,250 and £5,000 each.