A FOOTBALL-mad artist has created three England-inspired special edition prints ahead of the European Championships.

Darlington artist Terry Kneeshaw has been painting the football shirt artwork for a number of years.

After starting by creating a piece for Darlington FC, the Quakers fan has gone on to do them for a number of others, including a recent commission for Man City, to celebrate Sergio Aguero's 10 years with the club and one of behalf of Bury, when it was expelled from the English Football League in 2019.

The latest prints celebrate different England players, from 1966 to the present day.

The 63-year-old will be selling them from the first whistle of the European Championships, which kick off next Friday, until the end of the final, due to be played on July 11.

Mr Kneeshaw, who has worked in advertising for 45 years and used to be an artist for the Northern Echo, said: "It was a fantastic project for me to do.

"People have been shouting at me to do an England collection for a while so that's why I've done it.

"It's been an impossible task to choose because there are 65 million different opinions as to what it should look like.

"I'm not going to please everyone but I'm happy. I think it's going to explode on social media but 99 per cent of the comments are encouraging and very kind."

He has done three prints in total. The first features the eleven-man team that won the World Cup in 1966, along with manager Alf Ramsey. The second features England players from 1966 to 2000, including the likes of Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne, Gary Linekar and Ian Wright.

The third includes players from the post-2000 era, including David Beckham, Emile Heskey, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford.

A percentage of sales of the prints will go to the charities Kick It Out, and Neuroblastoma UK.

He added: "It's really exciting for me. I've had England footballers call me up about it. It's like a portrait of a period of someone's life."

A keen football fan, he is eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament.

Rating England's chances, he added: "They are playing in the best league in the world and experiencing the best of the best so I think they've got every chance."

To find out more visit www.terrykneeshaw.com.