It’s enough to make Northerners bristle with pride

Manchester isn’t a city particularly blessed with landmarks. The Hacienda is now a residential area, Old Trafford is being dismantled and rebuilt in Florida (or something) and even the Rover’s Return has been a no-go area since that nasty Charlie got his feet firmly established behind the bar.

So three cheers for the GlynWebb home improvement store in Belle Vue, which has helped to narrow the tourism gap between the capital of the North and London by creating its own landmark.

When manager Damian Jackson complained about the ugly water tower at the back of the store, finance and operations director Tim Baker suggested, quite naturally, turning it into a tin of paint. A quick phone call to Akzo Nobel, producer of Crown paint, a few sheets of vinyl wrap and a fresh lick of er… paint, and hey presto, you’ve got the North-west’s number one tourist attraction. The owners of the London Eye must be quaking in their boots.