A FORMER chairman of Kidderminster Art Society has donated a painting of Stourport Canal Basins to the Bramble Appeal.

Ken Jackson, 93, of James Road, Kidderminster, gave the framed watercolour to Stourport Forward, which owns the 1934 canal boat Bramble, to raffle to raise funds for its restoration.

“I hate to see boats derelict,” he said. “These old ones – they’ll never build anything like them again. I hope [the painting] does some good. I am keen to help.”

Mr Jackson has been painting since the age of six but began to take his hobby seriously about 40 years ago. The former employee of Gilt Edge Carpets, of Kidderminster, spends 90 minutes painting each day and a piece usually takes two weeks.

Pauline Annis, chairman of Stourport Forward, said: “We are extremely grateful to Ken for his very kind donation to the Bramble Appeal. We hope to raffle his picture to raise funds for the Bramble Appeal. I am sure that it will be a very popular prize. It must have taken a long time to produce such an excellent piece of work.

“We have been amazed by the support that local people have shown for the Bramble Appeal and have made a fantastic start but we hope local people will continue to support the appeal so that we can fully restore Bramble to her original state as she was when she was a working canal boat.”

The Shuttle wants local businesses, schools and groups to get on board help raise the £7,000 needed to restore Bramble as an education tool for visitors and schoolchildren.

She needs a new prop shaft, mechanical and electrical work, new covers and fenders, a lick of paint, and historic and replica items to furnish the living quarters as they would have been in times past.

If you or your school or group can organise a fund-raising event, contact The Shuttle and we will help publicise it by featuring it in our weekly coverage of the appeal.

If you wish to send a donation, make cheques payable to Stourport Forward Limited and send them to Jennifer Meierhans, at The Shuttle, 6 Towers Buildings, Blackwell Street, Kidderminster DY10 2DY.

Please include your contact details as Stourport Forward would like to respond with letters of thanks to all those supporting the appeal. If you can help with materials for Bramble’s refurbishment, contact Jennifer Meierhans on 01562 633346.

For more details of the appeal, contact Shuttle editor Clive Joyce on 01384 358282.