Pro-Ukraine, anti-Putin mural painted by mystery artist appears in Little Lever, Bolton

The paintings, which have appeared on a wall on one the Herbert Street in Little Lever, shows a child urinating in Ukrainian colours on Putin’s name.

As yet, no one in the area knows the origin of the artworks or the identity of the artist, but following the outrage over Russia’s invasion of its Eastern European neighbour, reaction in Little Lever has been positive.

Jenine Taylor, who runs a nearby photography studio, said: “I arrived in for work one morning and there it was! We’ve got no idea where it came from.”

She added: “I think its been well received and there’s been quite a positive reaction to it.

“It’s something positive, which there hasn’t been very much of recently.

“I don’t know if we’ve got our own Banksy or who it might have been!”

The street art is the latest manifestation of the support that Bolton, and other communities across Greater Manchester have shown to the people of Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion over the last week.

Bolton is home to a thriving Ukrainian community, based around the Bolton Ukrainian Club on Castle Street, whose parents and grandparents for the most part arrived in the borough as refugees after the Second World War.

Even before the war began, community members had been warning about the danger posed by Vladmir Putin’s plans.

They have held vigils to highlight the unfolding crisis as well as collecting to help modern day refugees in their ancestral homeland.

But support for the Ukrainian cause has come from communities of all backgrounds and ethnicities across Bolton as the recent anonymous art work in Little Lever demonstrates.

Ms Taylor said: “It seems a bit strange to say that graffiti appearing is something really positive but its more like a mural or like artwork.

A public gathering to show solidarity with Ukraine is planned to take place at Bolton Town Hall on Saturday from noon until 2pm.