Hardingstone village mural to celebrate Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Nicki Blanchard said the Hardingstone Platinum Jubilee MurALL was about "engaging the community"

A mural is being painted on a 70m (229ft) long wall in a village to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The Hardingstone Platinum Jubilee MurALL is brightening up a breeze block boundary wall of the parish's recreation ground in Northamptonshire.

It features a rainbow background and will represent each decade from the Queen's reign.

Community muralist Nicki Blanchard said it was about "engaging the community".

The project, being led by St Edmund's Church on behalf of Hardingstone Organisations Together, has been described as a "legacy artwork".

The finished image will depict the highlights of the Queen's 70-year reign, along with "hopes and aspiration for the planet and the Hardingstone community" for the next 70 years, organisers said.

They added that the painting would "significantly enhance the ugly breeze block boundary wall of the largest public outdoor space in our village".

Members of the community are helping to paint the mural

Ms Blanchard collected ideas from people in the village for her design and first painted the Rainbow of Hope background in shades representative of the 1950s and 1960s.

This week, images of these eras are being outlined for the community to complete by painting-by-numbers.

"It's about engaging the community, and getting their ideas for the design," Ms Blanchard said.

"Then I sort of make a soup out of all the ideas and piece it together and then make something that's coherent and makes sense - but I really want everyone to have their voice heard."

The mural will be officially unveiled in September but it is hoped it will be completed earlier.