The Washington Buildings cafe Willmore's 1938 has "turned a negative into a positive" by covering up graffiti with street art.

The mysterious mural appeared on Friday (26 February) and was painted by local artist Malcolm Murphy.

It painted over an incident of "tagging" - when groups graffiti symbols onto property to mark territory.

"We've been tagged several times," Matt Holland, co-owner of Willmore's tells Nub News.

"After we painted over it, we got tagged again. So, in the spirit of COVID, we've tried to turn a negative into something positive.

"We commissioned a great local artist to cover it up with this artwork, which is great income for him as well and we really want to keep it local.

The mural depicts a bygone entertainer, which Matt says is a reference to the cafe's roots.

"We came up with the idea of an entertainer, which is a nod to the history of the building."

The cafe's name name commemorates the Willmore brothers, two entrepreneurs from London who came to Penarth in the 1910s, setting up a cinema and designing the renowned Washington Buildings where the cafe is based.

Much of Willmore's decor harks back to the building's past.

"They were entrepreneurs, we were entrepreneurs and we just wanted to bring Penarth's history back to life," Matt explains.

"We also have cameras, film cans and film reels - that sort of thing. The building used to be a butchers too, so you we have butchers tiles and meat hooks and all that.

"This is a great town with characters and people from the past who shouldn't be forgotten."

For more information on Malcolm, visit our article about him HERE.