MP Sir Jake Berry is hoping to have a new mural painted in Darwen town centre.

The Rossendale and Darwen MP was contacted by residents who pointed out to him that the wall directly behind his office “is a little bit grotty”. Following on from the impressive mural painted to mark Darwen designer Gary Aspden’s Spezial Adidas range Sir Jake is hoping the council will use their contacts to arrange for similar treatment on the wall across from the market hall.

Sir Jake hopes the mural will celebrate “all things Darwen” such as the Spitfire sculpture and Darwen Tower. He has called on residents to get in touch with their ideas.

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Sir Jake has already spoken to Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and says he has tracked down the owner of the building in Railway Road who the MP says has confirmed he is happy for the wall to be painted. LancsLive understands that the council has been in discussions for some time with a view to painting the wall to improve the town centre.

In a video Sir Jake said: “Happy St George’s Day from one of the most patriotic towns in Britain. I’m here in Darwen and I want to thank the local residents who pointed out to me that the wall just above my office is a little bit grotty.

“They suggested that I spoke to the council and ask whether we could have a new mural painted on it to celebrate all that is fantastic about this town.

“Well I wanted to say, on St George’s Day, why don’t we have something celebrating St George, the cross of St George, England and all that makes our country fantastic. You may have different ideas and that’s why I want to hear from you.”

The Adidas mural featuring footballer Luke Shaw was painted back in 2021. The 40-foot-tall painting is by Sheffield-based mural artist Peter Barber based on a photograph taken by legendary rock music photographer Kevin Cummins.

The piece was commissioned and paid for by Adidas, for whom defender Luke Shaw is a brand ambassador. It celebrates the forthcoming collaboration between Adidas Spezial and premium Italian casual wear brand C.P. Company ahead of their exhibition in the town.

In the mural, Luke wears the Haslingden jacket from the C.P. Company x Adidas Spezial collaboration – a two piece capsule which will get its exclusive global reveal at the exhibition. The collaboration between C.P. Company and Adidas Spezial is one of a number of collaborations created to celebrate C.P. Company’s 50th anniversary.

The artwork took around four days to complete and artist Peter Barber admitted he struggled to get it finished on time due to the amount of people who were stopping and complimenting his work. He said that the response from the public in Darwen had been overwhelmingly positive.

Sir Jake’s team can be contacted via his Facebook page.