Brick tinting pioneers Bebbington Brick Services will soon complete a major project to transform the appearance of a large red retail unit.

The Staffordshire based company, whose founder George Bebbington created the brick tinting technique in the 1960s, has spent four weeks turning the 550sq m unit - at the Banbury Cross Retail Park in Oxfordshire - from red to blue.

It's a highly technical, complicated project, because contractors Thomas Vale Construction want to replicate the unusual texture of the Staffordshire Blue brick.

Painting the brick a different colour would not create the desired effect, because it masks the texture and character of the masonry. Also, tinting only needs to be done once, unlike painting which requires routine maintenance.

Business Development Manager Simon Morley said: "There are only two or three companies in the country who could take on a project such as this.

"It's a very complicated procedure because Staffordshire Blue - the type of brick we are trying to imitate - has a very smooth texture, so merely painting over the red base colour wouldn't work.

"However we have worked on this kind of project for 20 years - we actually pioneered the technique in 1968 - and our reputation is one of the reasons we were contracted by Thomas Vale."

It's the latest in a long line of eye-catching jobs for the Cheadle firm, following on from contracts at The Wedgwood Museum, The O2 Arena, and Aintree Racecourse. Their work has also featured on the Channel Four programme Grand Designs.