Andrew Clarke had prepared a special treat to cheer up his wife Mary when she came home from hospital - he'd painted patriotic murals over the living room walls.

Mr Clarke is so proud of his country and its history that he transformed the living room of the couple's Odsal home into a shrine to England and St George to celebrate Mary's recovery from an operation.

Mr Clarke said: "It was a good surprise for her when she got home and she saw it.

"Since then friends and visitors have all been very impressed. It's a lot different to your average photo print in a clip frame and is a talking point when friends, family and guests come round."

Mary was delighted with the sudden change of decor.

She said: "When we were on our way home from the hospital he said he had made some changes about the house but I did not expect this. It was absolutely amazing, definitely a great surprise. What's so great about it is that it's a permanent reminder of me getting home from hospital and it's there for as long as we want it."

Next Saturday is St George's Day and Mr Clarke's murals will have pride of place on the patron saint's day among his other patriotic masterpieces.

Last year Mr Clarke, 44, painted a large watercolour of three English kings, Henry III, Edward I and Edward II.

The watercolour is now on display at Bolton Abbey where it is admired by thousands of visitors every year in its position next to the altar.

"I'm very honoured that it's there," said Mr Clarke, "It is nice to know people are gaining pleasure from it in the same way that I have gained pleasure from seeing other people's work. The abbey tell me that they have had very positive feedback about it as well which is very nice indeed.

"I am a very patriotic person. St Patrick's Day has a huge celebration in this country and St David's and St Andrew's day are well observed as well, but our own St George's day goes by each year largely unnoticed. I would join with people like Keighley MP Ann Cryer in calling for St George's Day to be a national holiday."

It was as a schoolboy that Mr Clarke's love of English history and art began to develop.

"It all started when I was a little boy really," he said. "I was fascinated by all aspects of history at school and loved to draw.

"Teachers used to take me out of the other classes that I didn't enjoy so that I could have more time to paint, something I'm not to sure would be allowed in schools these days."

Mr Clarke, a security guard at Bradford College, continues to develop his interest in history and has recently enrolled to study for a history A-level at Bolling College. For his next project he now has plans to work on a series of watercolours for display at the Ilkley Winter Gardens festival later in the year.