ABOUT 300 residents put their heart and 'sole' into a footprint painting to raise thousands of pounds for charity - breaking a world record in the process.

A canvas measuring 16,000 square feet was covered by the colourful artwork between 8am and 4pm on Sunday (29), smashing the previous record of 12,900 square feet.

The work in Ealing was overseen by Hounslow-based artist Jignesh Patel, founder of Creative Campus International, which raises funds and awareness of worthy causes through art.

Mr Patel said: “The turn-out was really good despite the wind and little bit of rain we had. Everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a really good day.”

The event raised about £5,000 for The Japan Society Tohoku Eathquake Relief Fund through sponsorship and donations.

Mr Patel, who has been creating community artwork for about 16 years, added: “I'm from Gujarat in India where we also had an earthquake in 2001. I saw the damage it can do for myself, I know how it feels, so I wanted to raise money to help those affected in Japan. There aren't many people using art for public awareness and I want to inspire people to do community work through creativity.”