CUTTINGS from the Star feature in an eye-catching piece of artwork about a former St Helens landmark which dominated the skyline for decades.

Jackson Street’s gas tower has returned from the scrap yard for an exhibition at the World of Glass by St Helens artist Paul Cousins.

Paul had been interested in the tower for years but it was only when it caught fire two years ago that he decided to paint it.

He explained: “I’d produced doodles and sketches of the tower over the years but couldn’t really connect the structure to the types of sky that features in my work.

“Then it went on fire and the smoke from the tower gave me the link to the clouds I must have been looking for. Nothing made sense until the fire.”

Merging cuttings of the Star’s coverage with drawings in his sketchbook Paul has created a striking collection of artwork.

Entitled ‘Inferno’ it won the St Helens Open Art exhibition in 2011 and features as the centrepiece of a display at the World of Glass’s Artists and Archives exhibition.

He added: “The painting is about the death of throes of an iconic structure and a well-known local landmark.

“The tower also fascinated me as a source of energy. It not only stored natural power but related to today’s environmental issues.”

Displayed alongside the painting are two framed sketchbooks of Paul’s drawings, a collage of the fire and displays of the Star’s press cuttings that trace the story of the tower and its eventual demolition.

The exhibition runs until January 11, featuring work by a range of artists