Residents' delight as mystery painter restores signs

The painter has restored about 70 cast iron signs in Newark

An anonymous volunteer who has spruced up about 70 old cast iron road signs has left residents in a town in Nottinghamshire delighted.

The signs in Newark are thought to be nearly a century old, and have been sanded and re-painted over the past few months.

The painter responsible wants to remain completely anonymous, but told the BBC he has been slowly working his way through the signs around the town.

He said: "It makes me feel good. It's a lovely thing to see when they are done."

The signs - pictured before and after the painter's intervention - are thought to be a century old

It isn't clear exactly when the mystery man began renovating the town's signs, but he told the BBC he had always been interested in architecture and old buildings.

His work - which has recently attracted attention on social media - sometimes includes painting signs above people's doors, or on the side of their homes.

In these instances, he said he asked for permission from the homeowner before putting up his ladder.

He said: "I think we should be working to bring the community together - not trying to divide it."

Most of the time he goes unnoticed, but said on one occasion, he was very grateful for a jar of homemade jam, which one resident gave him as a token of appreciation.

'Deserves a medal'

Margaret Metcalfe lives in Newark and has one of the newly refurbished signs on the side of her house.

She said: "There are a lot of signs in streets that you think could do with being done up, because you can't even read what they are saying.

"So good on him, well done, especially if he's just done it off his own back, he deserves a medal."

Another resident, August Grinevicius, 34, who lives on one of the streets with a newly painted sign, saw the mystery painter on a ladder outside his neighbour's house.

He said: "He smiled to me and I smiled to him, and I said 'I love it, it really looks good'.

"They look amazing, every time I go to work I look up at it because it's beautiful."

Diane Spurr, from Historic Newark in Bloom, said the painter's work helped improve the look of the town

Diane Spurr, who volunteers at community group Historic Newark in Bloom, said: "I think it's amazing, everybody in the town needs to just take a little bit of responsibility to making the town a better place to live.

"Whether it be volunteering, or doing a little bit of weeding, picking up a bit of litter, it all makes a huge difference.

"I think the town would be a much better place if there were more people like him.

"I think some people will think 'well he's done this, it's brilliant - what can I do, what little thing can I do that will make the town a better place?'"

Steven Angell, who co-owns Angell's fish and chip shop in the town, said: "I think it's really good that someone has taken their time to go out and do something good for the town, when there is so much negativity around.

"These signs are heritage aren't they? So I think it's quite good that we've got some sort of history being brought back to life."

Chip shop owner Steven Angell said the town's history was being brought back to life