A SALVATION Army volunteer has completed a striking mural of 22 bees in memory of the victims of last year's Manchester Arena bombing.

Professional artist Gill Parish, completed the 10 metre long canvas, which was a blank hoarding surrounding a construction site next to the charity's church and shop in Washway Road, Sale.

Mum-of-two Gill began work on the mural last year after overhearing shoppers in the charity shop talking about the blank construction wall.

Gill said: “Creating a mural on the construction wall has been a wonderful experience as it’s something the community has contributed to.

"As I was spray-painting it, passers-by would often stop and offer to have a go. The feedback we’ve received has been wonderful.

“It was very important to create something bright and beautiful. There are 22 bees in the mural, which are all different. I felt it was very important that bees played a big part in the mural after the bomb last May.

"Like so many people in the area, our congregation was affected and The Salvation Army as a church and charity were involved on the night.

"I also wanted to ensure the victims were remembered and remind people that in the darkness there is light, which is apt as that’s the name of our shop. That’s why we decided to include a line from the Bible — 'light shines through the darkness'."

The mural took almost 20 hours to complete and was created using spray paint.

Salvation Army church leaders Graham and Dawn Mizon said: “We were keen to support Gill in her vision to transform the construction wall outside our charity shop.

"The result is beautiful and it’s become a real talking point in the community, which has been lovely.

"We support the community in a huge range of ways and the mural has helped us to raise awareness which is fantastic. We’d like to thank local people for their on-going support.”

Gill added: "So many people have commented on how it has brought beauty to an otherwise ugly wall. It’s also helped to raise awareness of The Light, our charity shop- and it encourages people to pop in.”