A HUGE mural telling the story of the Canvey floods will be created, thanks to a £10,000 grant.

The 77-metre long picture will depict the 1953 flooding and how the disaster led to the building of the seawall.

The project will be led by the Friends of Concord Beach charity, in association with community website CanveyIsland.org ,which will be providing archive footage to use as a reference for the artwork.

Heritage Lottery Fund made the grant as part of a programme which aims to preserve and share aspects of the area.

It is thought work could start next month and will hopefully be finished by the summer.

Colin Letchford, chairman of the Friends of Concord Beach, said: “It’s great that we have been awarded this grant and we can’t wait to get started. We love where we live and know there’s so much more to discover about our past. There is great archive material we want to share with visitors to the beach. We are all really excited about telling other people about our heritage.

“Wewant people to appreciate the value of the seawall and what is provides.”

The community group is now looking for artists – whether they are amateur or professional – who are interested in helping out with the project.

The group has helped transform Concord Beach into a family- friendly play area and installed a number of commemorative benches on the seafront.

Joan Liddiard, chairman of CanveyIsland.org, added: “This is great news for the community as a whole. The Friends of Concord Beach and the archive try to do asmuch as they can for the people of the island and this a good step forward.

“It is also educational as it instructs as well as preserves the history of the seawall.”

Anyone who is interested in helping with the project can email Colin