A micro-artist has created the world’s smallest nativity scene which is mounted in the eye of a needle – and is worth at least £20,000. Graham Short spent 40 hours painstakingly etching the minuscule scene onto a speck of gold no wider than a human hair using an ultra-fine needle. The 76-year-old engraver went to extraordinary lengths to ensure his body remained as still as possible for the intricate carving. He took beta blockers to reduce his heart rate and wore a monitor to time his hand movements between beats. Graham also had Botox-style injections around his eyes to stop the nerves and muscles twitching while he worked. The gold speck measures just 100 microns wide – 30 more microns than the average human hair. The pensioner, from Bournville, Birmingham, embarked on the festive project for his local church. Visitors to a Nativity festival at St Laurence Church, Northfield, can view the piece using a microscope.