Viral TikTok shop shutter gran immortalised in mural
- Published
The gran who went viral after being hoisted into the air by a shop shutter has been immortalised in a mural on the device that carried her to fame.
CCTV footage of Anne Hughes, 72, hanging suspended by her coat, while still clinging to her shopping trolley, was viewed millions of times online.
And now it has been recreated in spray paint on the front of the Rhondda Cynon Taf shop where it happened.
She said she was "proud" of the mural, calling it "beautiful" and "brilliant".
Ms Hughes, who has worked as a cleaner at the Tonteg branch of Best One for several years, had been leaning against the shutters while waiting for the shop owner to open up when the shutters began to lift.
She said she was relieved to have since been given her own fob to operate the shutters and avoid any future accidents.
"I could feel my coat moving and I tried to unhook myself but couldn't, so up I went," she added.
"I thought I was facing death, because I feared I was going to fall and smack my head.
"I'm so grateful my boss came out to rescue me."
Asked why she kept hold of her trolley as she journeyed skyward, Ms Hughes replied: "I just don't know, I must have thought it would give me some stability."
Shaken up by her ordeal but not injured, she said she could not help but see the funny side.
"I'm trying not to let [the fame] go to my head," she said, having previously vowed to ensure she "always has her make-up on" should she be captured on CCTV in the future.
"And I'll never go against those shutters again, I've learned my lesson there."
Artist Tee2Sugars said the chance to paint the moment was "too good to pass up".
"When I saw the clip of Anne I laughed out loud, as did everyone else who saw it," said the graffiti artist from Tonyrefail, about seven miles (11km) from the shop in Tonteg where Anne was lifted on 4 March.
"I thought 'what a story,' along with 'gosh, that woman must have the strongest anorak ever made'."
The 33-year-old, whose colourful work around the south Wales valleys has documented everything from VE Day to the recent 75th anniversary of the NHS, added he "jumped at the chance" to paint the tribute.
"The guys at the Best One convenience store in Tonteg contacted me and asked to do it, and I said 'yes' straight away," he said.
"The whole thing took about two hours and I did the best I could given that roller shutters aren't an ideal surface to work with.
"I even got mistaken for Banksy twice by people walking past."
Tee2Sugars added: "But now Anne will be preserved there forever, stuck upside down.
"It's just a shame that no one will be able to see it until after the store closes of an evening and the shutters come down."
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