Artist's pride at redesigning childhood phone box

Bronwyn Oldham said she "jumped at the chance" of installing her art into the telephone box

A photographer said her five-year-old self would be "really proud" after she transformed a telephone box that was once part of her walk to school.

Bronwyn Oldham, 53, said the facility in Alexandra Road, Southend-on-Sea, impressed her after she moved to the seaside city from Australia.

But in recent years it began to fade and needed to be restored by the local conservation society.

Ms Oldham said she "jumped at the chance" when asked if she could help to redesign the historic box.

"I would walk past this telephone box every day on the way to school and it just really stuck in my memory as being this big, bright red box," the photographer, who moved to Essex in the 1970s, said.

The telephone box contains a series of kaleidoscopes made up of eight different colours

The project has seen her create floral kaleidoscopes on the window panes inside the box, which have been lit up between 18:00 GMT and 21:00 each day.

Ms Oldham, who lives in Leigh-on-Sea, said the use of eight different interwoven colours had created a nostalgic feel.

"It lights up so it really looks like the old kaleidoscopes you used to get as a child," she added.

"When the light shines through it really does give you that nostalgic feel of childhood."

The telephone box will be lit up until 17 February from 18:00 GMT until 21:00

The artist said she hoped another child would see her work and remember it when they grew older, much like she did.

"I'm so proud of it and my five-year-old self would be really proud as well.

"I don't think I would have thought that many years later I'd be putting my hard work in something as unusual as a telephone box."

The art would be in place until 17 February as part of the Leigh Art Trail, Ms Oldham said.