Waves wipe out part of Australian art exhibit

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Huge waves wiped out part of a popular Australian seaside art exhibit on Monday, dragging sculptures down the beach and into the ocean. At least three sculptures were destroyed and others damaged when waves up to three metres (10 feet) high crashed into Sydney's iconic "Sculpture by the Sea" exhibit at Tamarama Beach. There were no reports of injuries, police said. "The waves were some of the biggest we've seen in Sydney for a while," said surfer Jarod Walker. David Handley, the founder of Sculpture by the Sea, said festival organisers moved some of the art works further up the beach in preparation for a high tide, according to Fairfax Media. The sculptures, many made of metal, were anchored in the sand, some by almost a metre. Brett Dutschke, a senior Meteorologist with Fairfax Media's Weatherzone, said beaches had swells of up to three metres. "The waves hitting the beaches were 2-3 metres high, so certainly large enough to be of danger to people on the beach or on the rocks," he said. Ocean swells were forecast to peak early on Tuesday before slowly receding throughout the day, according to surf forecasting website swellnet.com.au. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by Nick Macfie)