THE son of a man who 'stole' a Lowry painting as a political protest, demanding a mayor raffle off his underpants for its safe return, is opening his own art exhibition inspired by the iconic piece.

John Durkin was described by media as a practical joker after taking the painting by renowned Manchester artist LS Lowry, in 1972 from the town’s old Middlesbrough Art Gallery.

He said he wanted to hold it until galleries were opened on Sundays to "allow the working man to get some culture".

And he demanded that the Mayor at the time raffled his underpants for charity to secure the safe-keeping of the St Hilda’s Church and Middlesbrough’s old Town Hall painting.

His son, Sean Durkin, now 51, who was eight at the time of the drama, said: "I remember going downstairs that morning and seeing this little painting.

"I didn't know it at the time, but that was the first time I would see a painting by LS Lowry and my father had stolen it from a Middlesbrough art gallery the previous evening.

"It sat there just as though it belonged in our living room but dad said he had taken it and would hold it to ransom until art galleries started opening at a weekend."

John Durkin, now 74, was arrested and the painting recovered but was not convicted of theft at the Old Bailey due to a loophole in the law.

Sean Durkin, a father-of-two from Acklam, Middlesbrough, paints a stick man burglar running away from a stick policeman on each of his paintings as a tribute to his father who has now retired to Spain.

A new major exhibition of his work starts on May 24 at the Art House gallery on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough.

"I don't do copies of Lowry's work they are just inspired by that first painting that I laid eyes on in my living room as an eight-year-old kid."