INDEPENDENT shopkeepers have been celebrated in a stunning piece of artwork by British pop artist Sir Peter Blake.

Three Brighton shops feature in the special edition piece created to drum up support for Small Business Saturday.

Claire Tymoshyshyn, Hannah Davis and Kitty Newbury from Angel Food Bakery, Karen Gayler and sons from Dockerills, and Becky Mills and Peter de la Mare from England at Home in Brighton are included alongside 40 other small businesses holding the tools of their trade.

Sir Peter’s High Street Heroes shines a spotlight on the nation’s small businesses and celebrates their importance to the national economy and local communities.

He was commissioned by American Express, founder of Small Business Saturday in the US and an active supporter of the grassroots campaign in the UK.

The pop artist, who was made famous for his sleeve design on The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, released the artwork online as a free downloadable image to encourage the public to show and share their support for the Small Business Saturday movement.

Sir Peter Blake said: “Small shops and the Great British Shopkeeper have been at the forefront of British culture for hundreds of years now.

“The notion of a ‘Nation of Shopkeepers’ is embedded in our folklore and the wonderful variety of today’s independent shops as well as the character that small businesses bring to a local area make them an ideal subject matter for modern pop art.

“Having worked at a local butcher at the age of 13 I have also experienced the dedication and hard work that goes into running a small shop.

“It is for all these reasons that I am thrilled to be lending my support to a campaign that champions small businesses.”

Dockerills is a family-run ironmonger and hardware shop that has employed five generations over more than 100 years.

Director Karen Gayler said: “Dockerills has provided employment for five generations of my family and we feel honoured that we’ve been included in Sir Peter Blake’s celebratory piece of art.

“We hope it will live on in our family for many generations to come.”

Angel Food Bakery was the first cupcakery in Brighton when Hannah Davis, 39, opened the shop six years ago.

She said: “As a small business we are able to do what we love whilst catering for the local community and meeting great people every day in the shop, at community events or through our baking classes.

“It’s a really lovely idea to highlight the role that independent shopkeepers play and we’re really proud to be part of a Sir Peter Blake piece of art.”

England at Home is a luxury designer homeware and gift shop.

Staff member Peter De La Mare said: “Being a small, independent shop gives us the opportunity to tailor our shelves to our local community, and find unique items that customers wouldn’t really get elsewhere.

“We’re in good company being part of a Sir Peter Blake piece of art and we’re delighted he has chosen to include us.”

American Express research after last year’s campaign found 43% of shoppers chose specifically to shop at local independently owned businesses because of Small Business Saturday.

Customers spent an average of £33 per person on the day, generating £468 million for small businesses across the UK.

Rafa Marquez, UK Managing Director of American Express said: “We have a long history of working with small businesses and we wanted to celebrate the contribution they make to the UK economy and their communities.

“We are therefore delighted to have collaborated with Sir Peter Blake to showcase a range of businesses from across the country that add originality and variety to our local high streets.

“We hope this artwork will inspire even more people to go out and shop small this Small Business Saturday.”

The shopkeepers featured in the artwork were selected from thousands of small businesses taking part in Small Business Saturday and American Express Shop Small.

The work can be downloaded free from amexshopsmall.co.uk until Saturday, December 6.