Roofer brings world-famous Banksy design to building top in Inverness

A roofer has brought the world-famous work of Bansky to the top of an Inverness building.

Gary McIntyre, from Dingwall, was inspired by the work of the notoriously secretive artist and created a version of the iconic Girl With Balloon on a client’s roof.

He came up with the idea a few years ago, and word is now spreading about his original roofing ideas.

Gary, who has been in the trade for 20 years, incorporates lead and copper into his ornamental roof slate work.

The self-employed roofer constructs the designs at his house and then installs them on location.

It all started with a stag head design which he was able to carve into a friend’s roof, but he had ambitions to attempt one of his favourite artworks.

The Banksy rooftop created by Gary McIntyre. STV News

He told STV News: “I’ve always loved Banksy, he’s my favourite artist.

“The Girl with Balloon has always been my favourite of his.

“I’ve been doing this work for the last few years and always thought I would love to give a Banksy a try.

“The client contacted me to re-slate the back of his roof and, with no inclination of the stuff that I do, I offered to put the Banksy into his roof – free of charge of course because Banksy doesn’t charge for his – and he told me that his wife loves Banksy and the Girl with Balloon is her favourite.

“So they were more than happy to give it a try.”

He added: “It just went from there and the interest I’ve been getting from it has been incredible.”

Gary says despite his new-found creativity, his main priority is the fundamentals of the job.

He said: “First and foremost it’s my job to keep water out of the property, so when I do this I more than adhere to the National Federation of Roofing Contractors guidelines.”

However, big opportunities have been offered as a result of his work, with even an invitation to take part in ornamental slating course in Germany.

Looking forward, Gary has plenty of ideas in the pipeline and says his main goal is to one day tile a remembrance artwork to honour those who gave their lives in conflicts around the world.