Sunderland AFC legend Kevin Phillips is immortalised in screw art

SAFC legend Kevin Phillips has been immortalised in metal.

Superkev is the first subject of a planned series of portraits of Black Cats heroes by Darren Timby - who uses coloured screws to produce stunningly detailed works of art.

Kevin visited the Fans' Museum in North Bridge Street to see the work for himself - and completed the picture by adding the final screw before adding his autograph before posing alongside a mannequin displaying the very shirt he is wearing in the original photo on which the artwork is based.

Darren and Kevin were joined by representatives of JT Dove Building Materials and Nordstrom Timbers who are sponsoring the Black Cats legends series by providing the materials to bring the creations to life.

Graphic designer and screw artist Darren has previously produced works depicting the likes of Elvis, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Oasis Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel.

But the picture of Kevin is the first time he has turned his attention to his footballing heroes. Now he is also planning to produce images of the likes of Bobby Kerr and Bob Stokoe.

Kevin was over the moon with the new artwork: "It is the first time I have seen it and I am very impressed," he said.

"When someone tells you they're doing something like this, you don't quite know what to expect but you can see a lot of preparation has gone into it and a lot of time.

"It's the first time I have even seen anything like this and it is very impressive."

The picture is up for sale but will be on display at the museum in the meantime, where it will be put to good use for fundraising: "We will be running a competition to guess the number of nails," said Darren.

"People will be able to pay a pound a guess , can have as many guesses as they like, and the closest will win some memorabilia donated by the museum."

Darren will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the picture to the museum's mental health hub, though he has not put a price on the picture: "I am open to offers," he said.

"I have got a figure in my mind based on my other works but I am not disclosing that."

Anyone interested in making an offer can contact Darren through his Facebook page.