IT has been a centrepiece in Tweedbank for a generation.

But, while the village has shone, the mural on the underpass has faded in recent years.

Children at the local primary school were invited to enter a competition to come up with a new design to brighten up the area.

But, despite the winners being announced more than a year ago, it still hasn’t been painted onto the walkway below Tweedbank Drive because an artist capable of sketching the outline of the drawings has still to be found.

The underpass has since become the target of vandals who have painted “foul language” onto its walls - which scores of pupils pass on their way to and from school every day.

Scottish Borders Council’s Criminal Justice Team has offered to wash the walls and paint over the offending graffiti. But concerns have been raised that clean white walls would only attract more.

So now an appeal has been issued to Border Telegraph readers through Tweedbank Community Council to find an artist who can help.

Scottish Borders Council Leader David Parker explained: “What we are looking to do is find an artist who could take elements of the drawings and create one mural that would go on both walls and the ceiling of the underpass, if that were possible.

“We basically need someone then to outline it onto the underpass as the colouring should be relatively easy.”