MURALS telling the story of a pirate who finds love on the streets of Brighton have finally been unveiled after an eight-year struggle.

Lovingly painted by Lewes artist Pearl Bates the collection of artworks along with a map of the city’s famous lanes were unveiled by new Mayor Lynda Hyde in her first official ribbon-cutting engagement.

The murals were originally commissioned as part of the city’s anti-graffiti strategy eight years ago but were placed into storage after a spat with a former shop owner in The Lanes.

The project was revived by the Brighton and Hove Tourism alliance after a study revealed 85% of visitors struggle to find their way around city’s famous shopping district.

The murals were unveiled at entrance to the historic Meeting House Lane Councillor Hyde said: “I can very well believe 85% of our visitors struggle to find The Lanes because people ask me all the time. Now I simply direct them to the new map.”

She also commended the work of the 15 sponsoring business and the tourism alliance for improving the entrance to The Lanes.

The story follows the heroine The Pirate Queen on her adventures through the streets of Brighton and finds romance in a modern fairytale.

Soozie Campbell, chairwoman of the tourism alliance, said: “It has been a long and rocky road since we first dreamt up the project in 2007 and this is a truly momentous occasion.

“It looks amazing and we cleaned up the street as well so it is all looking lovely.

“The main thing was this shop said they did not want it on their wall so after about a year we gave up and did something somewhere else.

“We always had this lovely story and we were hiking around the city looking for somewhere to put it. It has been a long process.”

Sponsors of the project include Centurion, Donatello, The Grand Hotel, Hotel du Vin, Paul Goble, Pretty Eccentric, Choccywoccydoodah, and the Brighton and Hove Food Festival.