Weston-super-Mare seafront may be pretty much closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But the glorious seascape and a number of its landmarks has been brought to life in another way – thanks to a colourful new mural.
Local artist Martin Darcy has transformed the black hoarding covering the town’s former High Street Marks and Spencer store into a mural of Weston seafront.
The mural, which has taken around three weeks to paint so far, includes landmarks such as Birnbeck Pier, Brean Down, St Nicholas Church at Uphill and Knightstone Island.
Weston’s famous Grand Pier will also be featured.
In a nod to the dedication of key workers during the pandemic, figures of police officers, doctors and nurses have been featured in the artwork.
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Additional artists are now being brought in to paint figures of other key workers, from refuse collectors to shop workers.
Mr Darcy came up with the idea to paint the hoarding to brighten up the town during lockdown and contacted local councillor Mike Solomon.
Councillor Solomon said: “The black hoarding is about 60ft long by 20ft wide and I had received a number of comments about how unsightly it looked from local people.
“I heard that Martin was keen to do a mural so set about getting the relevant permissions for him to do so.
“It’s still a work in progress but it really brightens up the High Street.”
Local businesses have rallied around to pay for the cost of the materials and cover Martin’s costs, although he was happy to paint the mural for free.
Mr Solomon said: “The reaction to the mural from local people has been fantastic.
“And people are loving the fact that not only does it showcase Weston, it also pays tribute to the key workers who have given so much to the local community during the coronavirus pandemic.”
There are now plans to paint murals on other hoardings across the town.
“We are hoping to do more murals,” said Mr Solomon.
“There are other sites we are looking at and are hoping to be able to get permissions.
“And we don’t plan to limit it just to Weston and are keen to venture out into other areas such asClevedon and Portishead.”
It is hoped to be able to move the large mural to new location in Weston when new tenants move in to the former M&S unit which closed last April.
