A Southampton artist has crossed footballing rivalries to cheekily display a Saints mosaic at the home of bitter rivals Portsmouth Football Club.

Will Rosie, 51, the designer behind the mosaic has told the Echo the stunt was engineered to promote a more jovial and light-hearted side to the rivalry.

He said: “I designed the 'Mr. Saints' around a year ago, so I’d been thinking about it for quite some time and made sure I did on a weekday morning when there wasn’t a match on.

“I’ve had positive feedback from Saints fans and some enjoyable banter with some Pompey fans.

“There were some club staff who confronted me outside Fratton Park, but I think they quickly understood it was a bit of fun and asked me to take it down, but I managed to get a picture before I left, that I’ll be hoping to sell later in the year.”

Mr. Saints (Image: Will Rosie)

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Will – also known as ‘Mr Mosaic’ – has also become well known for designing various mosaics around the city – with Mr Men characters popping up in surprise places, including Southampton General Hospital, the Itchen Bridge and Portswood Police Station.

He said: “At the end of the day it’s all positive and a bit of fun and the feedback has always been great.

“The Saints mosaic was a bit cheeky but I’m glad it’s been greeted with the spirit that was intended.”

Will Rosie with his Saints inspired design (Image: Will Rosie)

He added: “As I said, I’ll soon be looking to sell prints of the mosaic and I think it would make a great present for birthday and Christmas, particularly for a lot of dads who are probably given the same bottle of whisky and Lynx Africa.”

As well as mosaics, Will also helped design various lighthouses that were placed around the city centre over the summer.

They will be auctioned off at Southampton International Boat Show on September 20, to raise money for Southampton Children’s Hospital.