Lockdown artwork created as hundreds of village's decorated stones used to form 'path of hope'

Residents of Hart came together during lockdown and painted more than 400 stones and pebbles which were left along a fence between the village primary school and church for all to see.

People of all ages from children to pensioners got involved painting pictures inspired by the pandemic including rainbows, support for the NHS, Captain Tom Moore and more.

Now they have been given a permanent home by being set in concrete within the grounds of Hart Primary School and is called the Pebble Path of Hope.

The idea for the decorated pebbles came from village mum Becky Harrington after learning about a community in Wales that had done the same thing.

Becky, mum to three-year-old Tommy and who works at Teesside High School, said: “Everyone in Hart is usually quite up for getting involved in anything like that so I put out an appeal on social media through the Hart Village Hub.

"Before we knew it it had taken off. Everyone got involved which was really nice.

"People have used it to keep positive and keep everyone busy during what was a difficult time.”

Sybil Mountford, who decorated 23 stones, said the project encouraged people to get out for their daily exercise to place their stones and see what new ones people had created.

She said: “All the village got together from kids and grown ups to pensioners. It was a good thing to do during lockdown and gave people an interest.

"Some have the NHS on, some have clapping hands. Someone has done a constellation of stars.”

And instead of just disposing of the small works of art, it was suggested to set them in concrete for prosperity.

Hart Primary School kindly offered a plot of land and Sybil’s son of John King Brickwork laid the path free of charge.

The project also inspired Sybil to write a poem which features lines such as: “We have decorated these symbols with love and with hope

And in a way this gesture helps us to cope.”

A message from the Editor

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Hartlepool Mail website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here.

Thank you.