New mural in Exmouth celebrates RNLI bicentenary

A new mural showcasing the RNLI has transformed the wall of a doctor's surgery in Exmouth.

Artist Gary Cook braved the cold and the wet to paint the mural on Haldon House Surgery on Imperial Road in December.

The work was commissioned by the RNLI to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the charity.

Mr Cook said the seafront location of the mural aimed to show visitors the town was proud of the service.

It features a Shannon Class lifeboat and a volunteer looking out to someone in trouble.

The artist told BBC Radio Devon the project had been an "exciting challenge" given its size and difficulties with the weather.

"It's been too cold, too wet and too windy," he said.

"Probably a week's work has taken me five weeks - I've been going up there for an hour or two, getting too cold and having to go and warm up again.

"At the end of the day it's come out quite well and I'm pleased with it."

Mr Cook joked he had caused "quite a stir" after initially doodling on the wall before starting work.

The "doodle grid", an assortment of random shapes, provided a sense of scale and allowed him to upscale the piece from his iPad.

But he said some people initially thought the doctor's surgery, which donated the wall, had been vandalised.

"The doctor's said they had over 50 people coming and complaining that some hooligans had graffitied the wall," he said.

"I had to explain it was all part of the process."

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