Wigan artist includes England football stars Ella Toone and Beth Mead in inspirational mural

Scott Wilcock, who runs Snow Graffiti, had been recruited by Platt Bridge Community Primary School to create artwork dedicated to inspirational people.

Following England’s triumph over Germany at Euro 2022 on Sunday, where 22-year-old Ella, from Tyldesley, opened the scoresheet, Scott decided to include her and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead in the piece, which is close to being completed.

Scott, from Ashton said: “The school is having an outdoor mural filled with inspirational people for pupils, which includes people like JK Rowling and Martin Luther King.

"We also wanted to include those who the kids will relate to.

"After the fantastic achievement by the Lionesses on Sunday, I messaged the headteacher asking would it be a good idea and we decided Beth and Ella would be the best to put up.

"We decided to include Beth as she won the golden boot and gets a lot of attention online with how well she’s been playing.

"Ella was a no-brainer as she comes from the borough, as inside the school there are lots of inspirational people from Wigan.

"It was always going to be them two that we used as we found a picture of them taken just three days before the final.”

The mural will also be used to teach the children about the various figureheads on the wall.

Scott believes the pupils will love the new additions when they return to school in September.

He said: “Every time I do something different, the kids love it and hover around asking questions and are really inspired.

"It is a great talking point, especially with the piece being used for lessons.

"Kids learn what they are interested in and with many of them enjoying watching football, especially after this summer, it just adds to it.”

A record 87,192 fans were in attendance at Wembley to see England beat Germany 2-1 after extra-time.

It is hoped that this summer’s success will encourage more people to watch women’s football at a domestic level.