Before Suffolk artist Alan Dodd began painting, one side of a house was just a blank grey wall.

Now, after 55 days up his ladder, the property in Eye has been transformed into a dramatic mural depicting parts of the town’s heritage.

The painter, who was schooled at the Royal Academy of Arts in the 1960s, was asked by friends to carry out the ambitious project.

“It was a blank, long wall, which I have got pictures of - you would not believe what a difference it has made to the space,” Mr Dodd said.

“The wall is about 650sq ft so it would not have been feasible to paint the whole thing so we decided to paint parts of it.”

The largest painting the artist from Weston, near Beccles, created was of a view from a blacksmith’s forge which takes in the dominating skyline features of the town’s church and castle.

Quirky characters and animals make up other parts of the canvas on the cottage.

Rabbits sit in hutches, chickens peer through doorways and a cat stares from a window to create the captivating piece of work. Mr Dodd even saw fit to paint on a red Royal Mail letter box to add colour to the 50-foot long wall.

He used materials from Ben Sturges’ Paints & Interiors business, a relation of the house owners.

Mr Dodd said the mural would benefit from being on a wall which is often away from direct sunlight.

Influential artist David Hockney was a teacher of Mr Dodd early in his career.