SPRAY paints are at the ready as youngsters prepare to brighten up the streets.

Dozens of Southampton’s Junior Wardens are teaming up with four graffiti artists today to create a colourful mural.

The work will adorn the hoardings surrounding a redevelopment project at the junction of Townhill Way and Meggeson Avenue.

The design will feature the Junior Wardens’ own drawings of what they think the future of Townhill will look like.

The 21 youngsters, aged seven to 12, will get painting today but the team of four artists leading the project, including Slam Daniels, Tony York, Tony Roberts and ‘Flash1’ from Southampton Chamber of Arts, have already got to work.

Slam said: “The mural is an important step towards improving the community and changing people’s ways of thinking about where they live.

“Once you get the children involved in art projects like this mural, people in the community will approach us and want to know how they can help.”

• For more information on the Junior Wardens email junior.wardens@southampton.gov.uk. Or for the Chamber of Arts visit southamptonchamberofarts.org.

The Chamber of Arts, which aims to boost creativity in Southampton and surrounding areas, hopes to run a similar project to transform the black hoardings at Watermark WestQuay with more murals later this year.

The Junior Wardens regularly meet for a range of community activities, including litter picks, gardening and fundraisers, to help improve the areas where they live.