AN ARTIST from Long Ashton has begun selling his unique creations in Clevedon to raise money for charity.

Bob Coverdale, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 10 years ago, was looking for something to fill the gap when he had to retire after 20 years of leading the Panama Jazz Band.

During a visit to Padstow in Cornwall, where he has a second home, he spotted art work painted on to drift wood.

The 78-year-old of Long Ashton Road, said: “I thought to myself ‘I could do that’.

“So, I gathered up some driftwood from the beach there and started painting it.”

Bob’s work has been on sale in Padstow for two years and is now also available at The Coach House Studio in Bellevue Road, Clevedon.

The items available in Clevedon have been painted on lengths of teak decking rescued from the fire which destroyed Weston’s Grand Pier in 2008. Profits from the sales will be donated to the Parkinson’s Disease Society.

He said: “Bristol doesn’t seem to have much driftwood so I went to a scrapyard and asked for any wood which may have been in the sea. They had a huge stack of wood from Weston’s pier.”