An underpass is now bright, artistic and graffitti-free thanks to the hard work of school pupils.

MP Teddy Taylor attended the unveiling ceremony of a new breath-taking mural they painted on an underpass which leads to Friars Junior, Constable Way, Shoebury.

The work, which was completed by pupils from Friars Junior, Shoebury High School and Southend boys and girls schools, depicts scenes from the last 2,000 years which the young artists themselves felt were important.

The finished result shows spacemen, scenes from Sarajevo, Vikings and many others.

It will compliment a similar project carried out in the same underpass earlier this year by Shoebury High and Friars Infants' pupils.

Both works were organised by the Working Community Partnership which is part-funded by Southend Council.

Community projects officer, Stuart Soper, said: "I think everyone was amazed at how they managed to transform this dingy subway. The first mural is still in very good condition because people have taken over ownership of it."

New look - Friars Junior School head Paddy Fairhead opens the transformed underpass with a fanfare from saxophanists Danielle Jameson and Jemma Greenfield, both pupils of Shoebury High

Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

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