AN eye-catching mural of local band Manic Street Preachers has appeared on a wall in their hometown of Blackwood.

The band formed in 1986 in Caerphilly and put Blackwood on the map with hits such as If You Tolerate This Your Children and The Masses Against the Classes.

They were also known for the hit ‘Come on Wales' in support of the team's remarkable journey in reaching their first semi-final in Euro 2016.

Now 38 years later, they are back in their hometown in the form of a mural painted by local artist Walls by Paul.

Paul Sheppard, a fan of the band, told the South Wales Argus that he had always wanted to do a Manic Street Preachers mural.

He said: “I have been waiting a while for a wall to come up in Blackwood, as I have been eager to do a Manic Street Preachers mural for some time.

“They are one of my favourite bands, probably my favourite of the 90s, so it’s been a long time coming.”

The mural features the Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richie Edwards who disappeared in February 1995, aged 27, before the band was due to make a promotional trip to America.

When he vanished, he was thought to have been staying in the Embassy Hotel in London. His car was later found near the M48 Severn Bridge with his passport at his home in Cardiff.

The mural was painted as a tribute to the band as they were in 1991.

He added: “Where better to have the mural than in their hometown of Blackwood, I can't understand why it took so long for something like this to be done.

“I thought somebody else had done it before me but nobody has.

“It is such an old reference picture, and people came up to me and said how proud they were to have a well-known band in their hometown.”