A LANCASHIRE street artist who has been working with Crown Paints has completed a special mural to recognise the work of the NHS and key workers in Darwen.

Last week, residents in the town spotted scaffolding had been put up on the corner of Hollins Road - just a few yards from the headquarters of the paint giant.

The corner terrace, famous for its Crown Paints murals, had been painted white to form a blank canvas, and over the weekend, Darwen resident and graffiti artist, Keiron Whitehead, set about painting a brightly coloured rainbow mural.

Mr Whitehead said: “It took around 45 hours over five days, using 12 colours and 75 litres of paint.

"The size and scale of the wall is the biggest I've ever painted.

"Thursday and Friday was bad weather but I battled through and by Sunday night I had painted all the colours, finishing it off on Monday.

"The attention the wall has received is amazing. It really has lifted up the spirits of the community far and wide.

"There has even been a Just Giving page made to help those in need through the virus, which is good, and the locals are all taking to painting things themselves to brighten up their areas.

"Thanks to all the people that helped with the project, and especially Crown Paints for letting me paint the wall.”

Better known as Curly, Mr Whitehead has been a graffiti artist for more than 20 years, but also works full-time for the NHS as a finance and payroll support officer, and a weekend driver for Lancashire’s out-of-hours emergency care service.

Crown Paint’s Corporate Communication Executive Josie Cawdry said: “Along with the rest of the UK, we are extremely grateful to our key workers and those working in the NHS.

“We are so proud to see the finished mural on Hollins Road and can’t thank Keiron enough for all his hard work and dedication.

“The positive feedback from those in the local area has been truly overwhelming.

“I hope that our mural not only raises a few smiles in the local community but also serves as a lasting tribute to the thanks we all owe to our amazing NHS and key workers.”

The wall used to have a bright Union Jack flag on it as part of the Queen’s Jubilee and had been there since 2012.

It is not the first time Curly has looked to work on murals in his local community, as the Lancashire Telegraph reported last year that he wanted to offer his services to create a mural on the wall of the former NatWest bank building in the town centre.

At the time, Mr Whitehead, who has experience of similar projects including doing street art images at the Cheltenham Beer Festival, said: “Something like this on the side of walls would benefit the area.

“I tried to do something there in the past as I contacted the landowner and approached them to do it but it did not happen.”

Councillors in the area say they are in support of Mr Whitehead’s offer, with Councillor Roy Davies commenting: “I was talking to Curly yesterday and I think what he’s created is absolutely gorgeous.

“It’s fantastic and it’s just what we want to brighten up the town. We need more of this type of thing for Darwen, it’s fandabidozi."

You can visit the Just Giving page here