A mural of the emu that helped foil the getaway of a suspected drink-driver in Malmesbury now adorns the window where they crashed.
The incident, which made headlines around the world, saw the driver flee from the car he had crashed into the window of a shop on Gloucester Street. After breaking into Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary his escape was thwarted by an emu and he was arrested a short time later.
While many were amused by the tale, it was less funny for Andrea Herbert who had signed a lease on the shop just three days earlier.
"It was a bit of a shock to say the least," said Andrea, who will open antiques shop Antiquary next Saturday.
After realising the smashed window could not be fixed in time for the grand opening, Andrea called upon the services of street artist Luke Hollingworth who produced the striking mural this week.
"I thought we'd try and make something positive out of it," she said.
"I've seen Luke's work around so I thought it could be a good fundraising idea.
"In a whirlwind it just materialised. I'm absolutely blown away with it. It's amazing.
"Luke's donated his time and materials, we are extremely grateful for that.
The mural depicts two of the sanctuary's emus, one wearing a police helmet and another a chef's hat - in recognition of The Old Bell Hotel's executive chef Dean Wade who helped the police make their arrest.
When the window is fixed, Andrea intends to auction the painting to raise money for the animal sanctuary.
In the meantime, Luke will be selling 20 smaller versions of the mural at Malmesbury Carnival's Petticoat Lane event on Sunday - with a proportion of the sales again going to the animal sanctuary.
"It's been a fun thing to do, said Luke, who painted the mural with the help of his 10-year-old daughter Daisy.
"It was nice to mix work with looking after the kids in the school holidays."
"A lot of the emu story happened just before I went on holiday. It was interesting to see it develop from afar. It takes some explaining.
"Hopefully it can get a lot of support."
Janinka Diverio, who runs Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary withGary Walsh, said: “we are really pleased this incident has had a positive outcome and we are really grateful to Andrea and Luke for their ideas, time and support.
"All this ties us in with the community which was always our vision for the sanctuary.
"We love collaborations and working with local artists is something close to our heart."
"As well as the Stencil Shed creative initiative, artist Lucia Leyfield has also donated a drawing which we have used for a limited edition range of mugs which will be available at Petticoat Lane."
The mural is available to view outside Antiquary on 36 Gloucester Street. The shop is holding an opening event on Saturday.
See more of Luke's work on The Stencil Shed Facebook page.
You can donate to Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary at bit.ly/3QLOIxc
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