Vandalised mural of England footballer restored
BBCA mural of an England footballer, who died suddenly of polio aged 29 in the 1950s, has been fixed after being vandalised in Birmingham.
A moustache was drawn on the street art in Digbeth of Jeff Hall, who played for Birmingham City.
But the artwork has now been restored by graffiti mural artist Simon Wingfield, known as Wingy, a friend of the original artist, Justin Sola.
Hall's niece, Emma Miller, said Wingy was "an absolute legend", adding: "I can't thank him enough."
Asked how it felt following the restoration, she replied "it's wonderful, it really is".
"He did this off his own back and... to me he just embodies the spirit of Birmingham. Something needs doing, someone needs helping out, that's what people do.
"He didn't ask for a penny and he didn't expect any kind of publicity. He said he was just helping Justin out, but he's a hero in my eyes."
Hall, who was born in 1929, joined Blues in 1950.
The mural was defaced at some point in the past few days, according to those in the area.
Wingy, who has been painting professionally for more than 15 years, said it was simple to adjust.
"It was a nice big piece, so it's quite easy to just fix the centre parts."
Asked how it feels as a graffiti artist when something that has taken plenty of effort gets defaced, he replied: "I've been around graffiti since the mid 80s, so... it doesn't really affect me.
"Graffiti art is very transient... A memorial wall... they do tend to stay longer, but in general if we wanted our work to stay forever, no-one would get a chance to put any new stuff up."
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