A popular artist has returned to Kent as part of her charity shop series, this time buying and painting on a metallic pink piggy bank.

Sophie Tea, who has 1.2 million followers on TikTok and a further 951,000 followers on Instagram, visited Barnardos in Tunbridge Wells last Friday (March 14).

It was part of her weekly Charity Shop Friday videos where she buys a random item from different charity shops across the country and redesigns them.

The artist – known for her nude paintings of women – gifts them back to the store which then sells them for the same price.

After posting about her visits on social media, crowds of fans gather and the item is raffled, allowing someone to get their hands on her work for a bargain price.

Last week, she picked up a metallic pink piggy bank from Barnardos, in Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells, for £3, describing the item as “chavvy, disgusting and stunning”.

In her video, posted on Instagram yesterday (March 20), Tea explains she was in the area to sign one of her pieces of work that she had previously sent to her customer, Hannah, without her signature.

Instead of getting her to return the artwork, the painter decided to make a home visit and tie it in with her weekly charity shop visits.

Hannah then invited Tea to paint the piggy bank at her house before returning to the children’s charity shop to raffle it off.

Following the visit, Tea said: “Thank you so much to Barnardos for letting me in and thanks to the scallywags that came out for the piggy bank.

“I actually had one of these when I was little. My mum reminded me that I put all of my paper round money in it and I smashed it to go travelling at 22.

“Funny enough, I went travelling to India and it was in Jaipur that I wanted to become a painter. Full circle moment.”

Store manager at Barnardo's Tunbridge Wells, Julie Cerullo, added: "It was absolutely fantastic to welcome Sophie Tea to the store last week for Charity Shop Friday.

“As so many people follow her on social media, the shop was buzzing with excitement from shoppers, which was amazing.

"Sophie really took her time to chat with everyone in the store and paint their pre-loved finds. We had lots of very happy customers and made an additional £600 more than on a usual day, all because of Sophie's visit.

"This will help Barnardo's to continue supporting the children, young people, and families across the UK who need us most.

“The whole team at the Tunbridge Wells store would like to say a huge 'thank you' to Sophie for supporting Barnardo's to raise vital funds and for brightening the day of so many of our customers."

This is the second time the 31-year-old has travelled to Kent as part of the series.

In January, she visited the Pilgrims Hospice store in Margate High Street and painted an ornament of a Shire horse which she bought for £12.

Tea started painting professionally in 2014 and specialises in painting the female form, to boost women’s confidence.