CREWE and Nantwich borough council has gone modern - in art that is!

And it's all thanks to local artist Nicholas Franklin who has donated a piece of his work.

Our mayor, Cllr Terry Beard, opened Nicholas' 'Fab' exhibition at the Lyceum Theatre in January and was asked to choose his favourite piece from the collection as a thank you.

A 3D piece entitled 'DNA' caught his eye and the decision was made.

"Selecting my favourite piece was a hard task as I liked all the pieces in Nicholas' collection," said the mayor.

"While I'm no expert in modern art, the DNA piece captured my imagination and the talent of the young man clearly shone through in his work.

"Donating the piece of artwork to the council was an extremely nice gesture. It has been displayed in the municipal buildings and I'm sure it will be a real asset to the borough.

Having lived in Crewe almost all his life, Nicholas studied theatre design in Birmingham and is now assistant art director for Brookside.

"I invited the mayor to pick his favourite piece as a thank you for opening my exhibition," he confessed.

"DNA is an A1 canvas based on different people's attitudes and issues on the theme of gender.

"I hope people will like the piece and get something out of it."

Nicholas and the mayor unveiled the piece in it's new home on the first floor foyer of the municipal buildings, last Tuesday.