A MURAL designed to brighten up the stairwell of a busy car park has been completed.

Colchester Council commissioned the work to be done by a local artist in a stairwell at the multi-storey St Mary's in the town centre.

The artwork includes a Celtic tribe called the Trinovantes, other art from the time and Boadicea, as well as an illuminated C with Colchester Castle and boats sailing up the River Colne.

It took nearly six months for the project to be completed with the artist, who wishes to remain anonymous, working evenings and weekends. Another stairwell at the site will be painted soon.

The artist said: "I’d been looking for a place to create a mural in Colchester so when I was offered this space in the car park I jumped at the chance.

"I knew I wanted the mural to celebrate the town’s history but the most important thing I wanted to achieve was to bring a lot of colour to the staircase, to turn it from something uninviting and uninspiring to something vibrant and welcoming.

“Those with keen eyes will spot that there are Dutch flags on the boats, at the last minute I decided to add these to represent the Dutch migration to Colchester in the 16th century.

"Although this doesn’t quite fit the overall theme I thought it was a very important part of the town's history and didn't really fit in either side but couldn’t be missed out.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how people react to my artwork and I’m delighted to have had this opportunity to paint the mural. I’m looking forward to completing the second stairwell in the coming months.

Just weeks after the improvement works were announced in April, rough sleeper Martin Dines was found dead in one of the stairwells.

Three people are due to stand trial accused of his murder in the next few weeks.

The car park has known to be frequented by rough sleepers and has also been the scene of anti-social behaviour.

Other planned improvement works include improved LED lighting, new painted steel window frames and work to close-off spaces under stairwells.

Mike Lilley (Lab) is the council's cabinet member responsible for car parks.

He said: "I’m delighted we have been able to collaborate with a local artist to create this historical inspired mural.

"It really has brightened up what was a very dull staircase.

"I hope by highlighting the town’s history in this way people’s pride in their community will grow."