AN historic North-East street, which was home to some of the region's most famous artists, has been turned into a modern art gallery.

Westbrook Villas, in Darlington, was built in the 1860s, on land which belonged to railway pioneer Henry Pease, and the houses were initially owned by prominent members of society.

Three well-known artists lived in the street and now its residents have tried their hand at creating some works of art.

At the weekend, the entire street was turned into an art gallery with everyone exhibiting their work, from three-year-old Tristan Peardon to the street's oldest resident, pensioner Shirley King.

The amateur artists were hoping to emulate some of the street's most famous residents, who are world-renowned artists.

Samuel Elton, who had number 21 in the street built for him in 1865, was the first headteacher of Darlington School of Art and some of his work is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London.

His son, Edgar, who lived at number 15, took over from his father as head of the school and was also a prolific artist.

Victor Hobson, who lived at number 11, was proclaimed as a genius by his contemporaries in the late 1800s and has work exhibited throughout the country.

Now the residents of the 25 houses in the street have decided to hold an annual art show to show off their own talents.

Resident's spokesman Mike Wallace said: "There are a lot of artists in the road, so we thought it would be nice to show off our work - especially with the street's historical art connections.

"We initially thought we would turn all our houses into individual art galleries to exhibit work but the weather was so nice we decided to move all the exhibits outside.

"There is a great community spirit here and everyone in the street got involved.

"We even had some art from a girl in America who is a friend of a resident. She e-mailed us some of her drawings to exhibit."

Crowds of people turned out for the art exhibition and donations were collected for Mind.

The exhibition was such a success it is set to become an annual event.