An inspired piece of artwork celebrating one of Whitstable's best known and loved characters has appeared in alleyway near the town’s station.

The colourful 25ft mural pays tribute to the late actor Peter Cushing who became a film legend for his appearances in Hammer Productions horror movies and lived in the town in his later life.

It brings a welcome splash of artistic talent to the otherwise graffiti-daubed path.

But the man behind the work admits he too was a nuisance tagger until he had a “lightbulb moment” as he was being led to a police cell.

Sam Giles, whose artistic name is Dream Safari, says his early escapades got him into trouble.

“I ended up literally caught red-handed and paid the price with fines,” said the 29-year-old, who lives in the town.

Then a policeman said to me, ‘why don’t you do something useful with your art instead, like tattoos or t-shirts and make a living from it’?

“It really was a lightbulb moment and I changed course. That was 13 years ago and now I’m a professional artist doing mural-type commissions, including for the NHS and Kent County Council and things like t-shirt designs.”

His latest mural was not commissioned, although he had the permission of the owner of the wall.

“I’m a big horror movie fan and it’s great that Peter Cushing lived in Whitstable and was so well known and loved,” said Sam, who went to the Chaucer School in Canterbury.

“But some younger people might just have heard of him locally because the Wetherspoon’s is called The Peter Cushing.

“I just thought it would be appropriate and to show why he is important to the town. It took me a couple of days and it was nice to get compliments as I was creating it.

“Of course, there’s risk a tagger will spoil it and it keeps me awake at night. But I guess I hope it will inspire them to be part of the next generation of artists.”

Peter Cushing appeared in more than 100 films and became a familiar sight around Whitstable on his bike. He is fondly remembered for not just his acting career, but his gentlemanly manner.

He died in 1994 after a battle with prostate cancer

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