Harry Styles mural unveiled at his village station

A village railway station from where Harry Styles started his journey to pop superstardom has unveiled a mural to thank him for "putting it on the map".

While Holmes Chapel only has a population of about 6,200, an estimated 10,000 Styles fans – known as Harries – have visited the mid-Cheshire parish in the past two years.

"We've had people from Colombia, Australia, Peru, the United States... a couple of girls from Japan were here yesterday," said resident Howard Roylance, talking about the former One Direction star's enduring appeal.

Fans usually arrive at the station from where Styles, armed with his young person's railcard, travelled to London in 2010 to appear on ITV's X Factor.

Station supervisor Graham Blake, who sold him tickets, said: "He's put us on the map... No-one had ever heard of Holmes Chapel before.

"It's brilliant - all the businesses, we're all benefitting."

A walking tour was launched last year after villagers noticed fans risking their safety near a busy by-pass while en route to nearby Twemlow Viaduct, where the singer apparently had his first kiss.

Now fans arriving in Holmes Chapel by rail will also be greeted with a mural.

The design, by local artists Victoria Holland and Eamonn Murphy, is a riff on popular vintage railway posters.

The artwork shows a 2021 Grammys-era Styles "standing" in front of the viaduct.

"I like his style, I like how funky he is," Ms Holland told BBC North West Tonight.

"He reminds me of David Bowie in terms of the clothes he wears.

"I've seen fans around the village taking photos of the shops and I'm sure this is definitely going to be one of the places where they want photos taken."

Styles, whose parents still live nearby, occasionally visits the area.

But Peter Whiers, chairman of local community group the Holmes Chapel Partnership, admits "it's obviously difficult for him because wherever he goes, he would get mobbed".

"But if he wanted to, I'm sure we could sneak him in and get him round the places."

He said locals had welcomed the extra attention, adding: "Obviously it helps the businesses - that's the driving force.

"We've had some difficult years in terms of lockdown and then the economy and lots of small businesses closing.

"What we've had through the Harry Styles tours is people come to this village when basically the locals weren't even coming into the village because it's cold [and] wintry.

"But the Harries continue to come here, come rain or shine!"

At the mural unveiling, Trish Cruise, who moved to the area from Liverpool, said: "It's just a really lovely thing.

"I remember being a massive fan of The Beatles, from Liverpool, so it was great to go to the places that they'd been to.

"It's definitely inspirational and my little granddaughters, who are eight and four, just love him and sing all the words to his songs."

Fellow resident Nicole Hardiman added: "We all really appreciate what he's done for the village and this (mural) was just a bit of something to show back to him that the adoration continues."

The new artwork comes ahead of Harry's Home Village Tours resuming in April.

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