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Couple from Kingswood pay tribute to NHS workers with mural on side of their house, painted by Graffiti Kings

14:29, 29 July 2020

updated: 14:31, 29 July 2020

A couple say they have no plans to remove a graffiti artist’s striking tribute to NHS workers painted on the side of their house, with everyone from elderly neighbours and school children stopping by to admire it.

If Vickki Gale, 33, and Mich Cooper, 37, from Whitehall Drive, Kingswood, do decide to the painting’s time is up, the large space could be used for other artistic tributes.

The tribute to the NHS, painted by a member of Graffiti Kings
The tribute to the NHS, painted by a member of Graffiti Kings

The stunning piece depicts NHS workers as superheroes, with a ‘rainbow tree’ in the middle, apparently sprouting from a plant next to the wall.

It was painted over a few hours one night by a member of Graffiti Kings, a group of street artists, who have been working since the 1980s, and offered to do the piece for free, after Vickki, got in touch.

The couple, who are engaged, both work for the emergency services and Mich’s sister is a nurse in Sidcup.

A colleague of theirs also passed away after contracting the virus.

Vickki said: “We both are key workers ourselves. I work in Croydon and I kept seeing graffiti tributes to the NHS so I googled graffiti artists and found the group.

The tribute was painted at night by a member of Graffiti Kings, using spray cans
The tribute was painted at night by a member of Graffiti Kings, using spray cans

“I said ‘can you do a small one,’ it turned out to be the whole wall which we didn’t mind.

“They asked me to paint the wall cream beforehand, and I only did a small section, but he said the whole wall.

“We would have paid but they said they would do it for free, as a ‘love project.’”

“We have had so much positivity about it.

“I can see it when I’m driving to and from work, It’s very bright, you can’t miss it.”

All the kids walking by just go 'wow, that's amazing...''

Vickki asked if the group could produce something that shows support for the NHS, but the pair, who have been together for two years, weren’t sure what the exact outcome would be.

Initially Vickki and Mich, parents to two children, six and four, were worried about the reaction from the community, but people of all ages love the new attraction. It went up in April, but the novelty has still not worn off.

“We have got a school in the village and we hear all the kids walking by just go ‘Wow, that’s amazing’, even the teenagers going to the shop,” Vickki said.

There are no plans to remove the attraction any time soon, and Vickki adds that perhaps in the future it can be used to pay tribute to more heroes, such as world war veterans.

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