A DISUSED bus shelter has been given a colourful make-over by an artist as part of Richmond's Britain in Bloom bid.

The concrete shelter at the junction at Pottergate and Gallowgate had been vandalised with graffiti and filled with rubbish – which was not the image the committee behind Richmond in Bloom wanted to give the judges.

Local artist Jackie Stubbs offered her services to Original Richmond Business and Tourism Association to give the shelter a paint job.

She said: “Someone mentioned the bus shelter being an eyesore, and it was on the route the judges were going to take when they came to town earlier this month, so I offered to paint some sheep on it.

“I started at 4.30pm and worked until midnight, then came back the following morning to sweep out all the rubbish."

Local councillor Stuart Parsons added: “That area of town felt abandoned, and the bus shelter was an eyesore with graffiti on it and there was no one to care about it. Now it looks so much brighter and we have had lots of positive reaction from it.”

Ms Stubbs hopes to work on other disused bus shelters in the town, and plans to invite local students design their own ideas.