Life-long Leeds United fan paints moving mural of late legend Gary Speed

If you're the observational type, you may have noticed a moving new mural that has popped up in Leeds.
Andy McVeigh's mural to Gary SpeedAndy McVeigh's mural to Gary Speed
Andy McVeigh's mural to Gary Speed

Life-long fan Andy McVeigh, 48, has taken the time to paint a touching tribute to late Whites hero Gary Speed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The primary school teacher from Burley free-handed the tribute on an electricity box near the footbridge which passes over the M621 in Holbeck.

The mural, which took around 12 hours to complete, shows a classic image of Welshman Speed, who died in 2011, in the classic white Leeds strip.

And it was the humility and humble nature of England boss Gareth Southgate that gave the idea, Andy says.

He told the YEP: "I was watching England and I was thinking about how they'd reconnected with the fans and humble the manager Gareth Southgate is - and it reminded me of Gary Speed.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I've got friends who have met him and they always say what a lovely bloke he was.

Andy McVeigh's mural to Gary SpeedAndy McVeigh's mural to Gary Speed
Andy McVeigh's mural to Gary Speed

"I've done a few other paintings around Burley and Headingley but none have got as much attention as this one. I woke up one morning and it had something like 2,000 retweets on Twitter."

And it has even recieved a seal of approval from Speed's family, with mum Carol tweeting Andy to say how much she liked it.

Speed played for Leeds between 1988 and 1996, turning out well over 200 times before going on to play for Newcastle and Bolton, before managing Sheffield United and the Wales national team.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Another of Andy's paintings near Elland RoadAnother of Andy's paintings near Elland Road
Another of Andy's paintings near Elland Road

Andy completed the mural over four nights and says he started painting because he had noticed a lot of graffiti in his local area.

But he says that his form of art has the backing of the electricity companies, and the police have never stopped him from painting.

"A police officer turned up on Saturday night while I was working on the Gary Speed tribute, had a look at what I was doing from his car, gave me the Leeds salute and drove off," Andy added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andy, who is sometimes known as the Burley Banksy, has more murals in the pipeline. If you spot any popping up around Elland Road, feel free to tag the YEP in them on Twitter.

You can visit Andy's Twitter profile by clicking here.