AN eye-catching mural has been painted in Southend High Street to thank the key workers putting themselves at risk to help the community through the global coronavirus pandemic.

The railway bridge artwork was commissioned by the Southend Business Improvement District.

A message of “Thank You Key Workers” tops the piece, while there are portraits of those who have worked through the Covid-19 crisis.

The colourful artwork was created by Nik Vaughn and Scotty Brave, who are also known as Brave Arts.

Mr Brave organised the mural and, having worked with the BID team previously, wanted to send a message of gratitude to all key workers.

He said: “We saw a lot of murals portraying NHS workers as superheroes, they were brilliant.

“We wanted Southend’s version not to be so obvious. We wanted the keyworkers to have their moment.

“So our mural is made up of portraits of all the unsung heroes that have worked throughout the lockdown.

“Some you might recognise, many you won’t. These are the people that kept the country going, so Southend wanted to say a big thank you to all of them.”

Suzanne Gloyne, the BID manager, feels the mural is an impressive way of showing key workers our appreciation and the concept was in the pipeline for some time.

She said: “I wanted to have a thank you piece commissioned since the Thursday night clap started back in March.

“At a time when more people will start returning to work, I wanted to show our appreciation for the thousands that have been quietly working around town throughout this period to keep us safe and healthy, to make sure we have food and essentials, and to ensure everything behind the scenes keeps running.”

Ms Gloyne is full of praise for Brave Arts’ work.

She added: “Scotty Brave is a great artist who always creates beautiful and powerful images and this time is no exception. I was pleased to see it put together with Nik Vaughn too.

“This artwork will be a small message of gratitude to let key workers know that everyone in Southend recognises and is thankful to them for the work they have been doing.”

For more information about Southend BID, visit southendbid.com.