Mystery as 'Minions' painted under motorway bridge

The Minions, wearing blue dungarees, look like they are holding up the bridge

An unknown artist who painted motorway stanchions to look like Universal Pictures' "Minions" has been described as an "absolute legend".

The yellow cartoon creations - featured in the Despicable Me movies - appeared over the weekend under the bridge over the Leeds Liverpool canal just past Rosegrove, close to Hapton in Burnley, Lancashire.

Onlooker Nicola Leverton posted photographs of them on Facebook, adding: "Whoever did this deserves recognition - endless smiles made all round."

Others agreed the "fantastic idea" looks "brilliant" and "better than seeing concrete" in the post which has been liked over 430 times.

Passers-by said the artist behind the reimagined pillars was 'a hidden genius'

Locals have jokingly dubbed the artist the "Burnley Banksy" but so far his identity remains a mystery.

Ms Leverton said she was admiring the Minions with her daughters when a man approached her and said he was the artist and it had taken him five hours to paint the creatures..

She said: "I told him what a brilliant job he had done whilst my little one was running from each one hugging them.

"He said he was glad we liked them and hoped others would.

"He was beaming ear to ear to see my youngest daughter's reaction to them."

Ms Leverton said the effort, time and observation he put into the work should be acknowledged as "a skill that genuinely makes a positive difference to people of all walks of life, young and old".

The BBC has approached Lancashire County Council and Highways England for a comment.