AN iconic mural in Callington is to receive a new lease of life thanks to a £25,000 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund and sponsorship by Ginsters.

The ‘secret pasty factory mural’ on the side of a house on New Road will be brought back to its former glory with the help of local artists within the next six months.

There are 20 murals around Callington and they were once a unique attraction for people to visit the town. But over the years Callington Town Council and various local residents have watched as their murals have slowly deteriorated.

Deputy mayor and portreeve, and chairman of finance and general purposes, Mike Tagg said: ‘The residents of Callington, Kelly Bray and visitors who admire our murals have watched and long complained about their slow deterioration.

‘Talks on what to do about them have been going on for years.’

But thanks to the work of council staff and various people around the town, an application was put forward to HLF and approved.

‘An application was submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund and we succeeded,’ added Cllr Tagg. ‘We were also fortunate enough to have £1,000 donated by Ginsters.’

The homeowner has also given permission to renew the mural, without which the task could not be complete.

Callington Town Council hopes the whole process will be supported by local residents.

Callington town clerk Helen Dowdall said: ‘Our mural trail has been a unique selling point for Callington and it’s a way of brightening up the area. We didn’t have the capacity or the money to rejuvenate the murals but thanks to the grant and the sponsorship from Ginsters we can now bring them back to life.

‘We hope that this will now ignite a passion for our cultural heritage and hopefully overtime we can renew all the murals — and repair or replace — when finances or resources permit.’

If anyone would like to get involved by providing their artistic skills, or by giving sponsorship, or would like to provide refreshments while the mural is being cleaned and replaced, contact the town council for more information.

The pasty mural is pictured above.