A TALENTED grandad has drawn up his own conclusions about the recent petrol crisis -- and tried to put a smile back on motorists' faces.

Brian Swainbank (pictured), 64, of Longshaw Lane, Blackburn, decided to put pen to paper after being left stranded at his home without any petrol.

And it took the creative man just minutes to come up with some alternatives on how to get out and about with an empty tank of fuel.

Why not try your hand at his designer environmentally friendly fan-powered machine, complete with emergency anchor at the rear of the vehicle, or even better, his man-powered motor guaranteed to burn off a few hundred calories.

The family man has been drawing since he was a young lad and spends most of his spare time hidden away with his coloured crayons and felt tip pens.

And even though he has got no qualifications in the subject, his cartoons have even captured the imagination of his local church, Church of the Saviour, in Sunny Bank Road, Blackburn, which uses them in its regular newsletter.

And to aid his artistic talents, one of the rooms in his house has even been turned into an artist's studio, which is more commonly known by people as "Brian's Den."

Brian, who remembers his mum shouting at him when he was a youngster for scribbling on bits of paper, said: "All my young relatives know the room as Brian's Den because it's full of felt-tipped pens and colouring pencils.

"They love coming round to the house to play in there. And because they all know my house for that room, they all say they're going to Brian's house which really annoys my wife sometimes."

But Brian's wife Jean is full of praise for her husband's drawings. She said: "He's very good at what he does but he always underestimates himself.

"It doesn't bother me that he spends so much time drawing as long as he doesn't insult me with his pictures!"