Remembrance mural unveiled on side of Stourport pub

The painting took artist Gareth Way (l) two weeks to complete, and Andrew and Maria Gooding said they were very pleased with it

A wartime remembrance mural has been unveiled at a Worcestershire pub.

Black Star landlady Maria Gooding said the artwork, which includes soldiers, a plane, a submarine and a poppy field, was "pretty breathtaking".

The mural on the pub in Stourport took artist Gareth Way two weeks to complete.

The pub has previously been decorated with a large festive bow for Christmas, which Mrs Gooding would also be in place this year.

The mural was "fitting" as the pub was close to the town's cenotaph, she said.

• Listen: "We wanted to involve all aspects of the armed forces"

"We wanted to involve all aspects of the armed forces and it's kind of been in the planning before Covid," Mrs Gooding explained.

"But obviously Covid slowed every thing down a bit, and we wanted to get the right artist to do exactly what our vision was."

She added: "It's a stunning piece of art."

Mr Way, a tattoo artist, has been diversifying into different types of art, she said.

'Such positivity'

"We've had such positivity from the local community, it's been amazing," she said.

"There's people stopping and taking pictures - Facebook, Google, every picture you see of the pub now is of the mural, which is fantastic."

Mrs Gooding said she enjoyed having the pub decorated, and the mural will remain for the foreseeable future.

She said it was needed to "keep people interested" as trade has got harder in the current economic climate.

She and husband Andrew will host a party next month to celebrate running the pub for nine years.