An amateur artist who was drafted in to paint a stage scenery at the last minute has won an award for his efforts.

Gareth Roberts, 57, stepped into the brink when Bollington Light Opera Group (BLOG) was appealing for a set designer for it’s production of Oliver!.

And he was thrilled when his hard work was recognised, not only by the cast and audience, but when he was presented with an award for ‘Exc ellence in Stage Craft and Set Patining’ at the Association of Community Theatre (ACT) awards.

Gareth, whose wife Norma is BLOG secretary and performs in the chorus, said: “I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t expect to win because it was my first time doing anything like this and I didn’t have much time to do it.

“It feels really good because it’s nice to be appreciated, art is very personal and the majority of people are not going to like what you do, so to have everyone telling you how impressed they are is really good.”

Dad of four Gareth, who designs computer systems, had just nine weekends to design and paint nine ‘flats’ - canvasses to form the backdrop of the stage performances.

He said: “They were stuck for someone to paint the set so I offered to help.

“But it turned out the person I would be helping was myself as they didn’t have anyone else.

“I hadn’t done anything on that scale for 20 years but I thought I would have a go.”

He added: “It was a big job - They were so big I couldn’t fit them in the house so I had to put them in my leaky car port - but I managed it.”

Gareth has since painted another set for the group, this time for its performance of Showtime, and has been signed up to decorate next year’s set, Pirates of Penzance.

He said: “It’s hard because the paintings that I like to do usually take a long time, and I have no idea what I’m going to paint at the start - it just evolves.

“But this way it had to have a purpose and - it was a completely different style. You have to think in terms of the paintings being looked at from 20 or 30 ft back, not just a few steps.”

To see more go to Gareth's webpage .