PHOTOGRAPHER Claire Allen has restored a piece of work from her school days after finding it at her parents' house.

Ms Allen, 32, of Forty Acres Road, Devizes, originally created the picture of her brother on his skateboard on a wall for her mock A-level exams when she was 17.

After a number of years lying forgotten in her parents’ garden the photograph became faded until Ms Allen found it and decided to give it the new breath of life.

Ms Allen, now a professional photographer with her own business, Claire Allen Photographer, put up the artwork in her front garden which acted as a reminder of her own memories through her career.

Ms Allen said: "Fifteen years ago when I painted it I wanted to be a photographer and an artist, and when I look back I realise I am where I wanted to be.

"I did the painting for an exam and afterwards I put the wall behind my parents’ house. When I bought my home eight years ago my parents asked if I could move the wall from their property. The photo was still there but over the years it had faded, so I decided to restore it and repaint it."

After the restoration of her work, Ms Allen has had people admiring the work that now stands in front of her house.

She said: "I am quite pleased with the result, I have had a lot of comments about the piece. One neighbour said to me that they have seen people stop by to look at it, when it was faded people didn’t know what it was, it looked like an ordinary white wall."

Ms Allen's photography company can be found at www.claireallenphotographer.co.uk