A colourful mural has appeared on the side of a pub in Newbridge in an attempt to brighten up the town’s streets.

The vibrant street art, depicting natural beauty and flowers, can be found on the wall of the Red Lion pub on Bryngwyn Road in Newbridge.

Caerphilly-based artist Paul Shepherd painted the mural after being commissioned by the pub’s owners.

Paul set up his own company, Walls by Paul, three and a half years ago, specialising in murals and graffiti.

He said that he believes street art is important for local communities and environments and to get people talking about art. 

Paul said: “Art is very subjective. It can serve many purposes, such as to provoke a reaction, inspire conversation or even simply provide an agreeable aesthetic.

“These days, as much as any, it’s important to have something uplifting in our environment and I painted the Red Lion mural with that in mind.”

The mural took Paul three days to paint, but says it took him longer than expected because of how much the locals loved the artwork while he was painting it.

This was far from an issue for Paul, who said he enjoyed stopping to talk about his work.

The mural has been met with further positive reaction on social media since it appeared on the pub wall at the start of the month, with locals calling the design "amazing", "gorgeous" and "eye-catching".

Some have even called for more walls in the town to be painted in a bid to “make the environment brighter”.

Paul’s other work, which has been popping up on walls around the local area, can be seen on his Facebook page.