A LOCAL artist has produced a series of watercolour traffic scenes featuring well known Bolton streets.

It is part of a new training pack to help driving instructors teach pupils the new written Theory Test.

Horwich-based Gerry Halpin was commissioned by Periscope Design to produce a set of eight dash-board views to be used in the Hazard Perception section of their Theorymaster pack.

"We knew Gerry was an accomplished local artist who was familiar with the town and its roads and would know how to portray certain situations," said Periscope's senior designer, Barry Almond.

The Theorymaster pack has been five years in the making, during which time extensive research was carried out among driving instructors throughout the country.

The results helped Gerry determine the best driving situations to use. All that remained was to go out onto Bolton's roads and begin sketching.

"I had already produced a number of pictures of the more scenic aspects of Bolton, and I must admit, when Periscope approached me, I was a little puzzled," said Gerry.

He added: "But when it was explained what the illustrations were for, the fact that I would have to sit and sketch Bolton's traffic made more sense."

Gerry has also recently finished illustrating a cookbook based on the popular BBC 'Heartbeat' television series starring former EastEnder Nick Berry.

"You could say I've gone from roast beef and Yorkshire pudding to traffic jams," said Gerry, who has been a professional artist for nearly seven years and is a former Head of Art at Rivington & Blackrod High School. Gerry's input is now paying off, with the pack being used up and down the country to teach pupils to drive safely, with initial feedback from instructors being very positive.

Gerry said: "The pack has been so successful that I am already working on a series of follow-ups featuring more of Bolton's busy roads."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.