ARTISTS have put the finishing touches on a display in a vacant Wantage shop window in an effort to breathe new life into the town.

Sculptures and paintings have been moved into the former stationery shop in Mill Street as the community attempts to add a splash of colour to its unused windows.

The move has been organised by Wantage Rejuvenated — a group affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce — to make the streets a more vibrant place to walk.

Chairman Linda Hatter said part of the reason behind the exhibit was to counter negative publicity generated by an article published in the Daily Mail in April which said the town had suffered a decline in its fortunes.

Mrs Hatter said: “With its empty windows, Mill Street has become the biggest eyesore in the whole town and we took a real bashing when the Daily Mail article came out.

“Putting these artworks in the windows changes the whole atmosphere of the place. The unit has just been refurbished and it looks fantastic. The effort will be rewarded, we hope, with new businesses taking over.”

The Daily Mail article said Wantage had been brought to its knees by high unemployment and boarded-up shops.