The Isle of Sheppey sign at the entrance to Sheerness train station has been officially unveiled by MP Gordon Henderson.

Among those watching the ribbon cutting was Tammy Halsall, 20, from Minster who created the letter E, standing for Elmley.

Tammy designed it using old copies of the Times Guardian and pencil shavings, and went on to win a Kent County Council Try Angle award for her contribution.

The giant letters were cut from recycled chipboard by Melvyn Ingram at his Eastchurch workshop.

Mr Henderson said: “It is great to see so many people showing a pride in their Island and demonstrating Sheppey’s rich history.”

The sign was installed at the end of last year. Twelve artists, aged 14 to 25 who were not in work or education were asked to design the letters. They headed to Margate’s Turner Contemporary gallery for guidance.

Justin Aggett, arts and media manager of Sheppey Matters, said the team did research about the Island so that its heritage and culture would resonate within the letters.

Characters include references to the Island’s role in the birth of British aviation, myths and legends such as Beowulf and Grey Dolphin, the Port of Sheerness, and Charles Dickens who lived at Minster.

The letters also include hidden references to Queen Sexburga, Henry Vlll, Minster Abbey, the catastrophic explosions of HMS Irene and HMS Bulwark, fun fairs, pirates and the former slave ship HMS Penguin.

The project was commissioned by Kent County Council, and The Rotary Club of Minster-on-Sea donated £500 towards installing the letters.

When the costs jumped to £1,500, the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (Acorp) offered £500 towards getting the letters protected and mounted by Sittingbourne firm McNealy Brown.

Rotarian Heather Thomas-Pugh said: “We originally planned to put the letters on the side wall of the Times Guardian offices, where they could be seen from the Sheppey Gateway. But they were too large and heavy.”

Paul Webster of Acorp said: “The sign is visually stunning and shows a fantastic pride in Sheppey, and demonstrates stations can become part of the community.”

The letter creators are: S – Sky Greenwood; H – Victoria Higgin-Abbey; E – Tammy Halshall; P – Joe Mitchell; P – Victoria Hunter; E – Eamon Forgione and Ashton Peters. Y was a group effort.