A nine year old boy with autism is among the prizewinners at the Making the Invisible Visible exhibition in Coalville.

Louie Linstead has created three paintings which depict the changing face of the town - from its mining heritage to the planned regeneration.

And his talent has been inspired by his grandmother, who has encouraged Louie to take up painting.

His work earned praise from the panel of judges at Coalville CAN, where the exhibition is currently running, and consists of artworks inspired by the National Forest and featuring local artists.

They said: "We loved your interpretation of the brief, the combination of natural history and industrial heritage, and the wonderful aesthetic of your paintings."

Louie with fellow prizewinner Tony Smith (Left), David Granger of First Market Bosworth Scout Group, dad Ben and mum Laura.

But it was at his regular scouts meetings in Market Bosworth that Louie's obvious flair for art shone through.

David Granger, of the First Market Bosworth Scout Group, said: "Louie's mum sent me some of the work he'd done, and I thought: 'Wow, where did that come from?'

"After that I messaged the family and asked them if I could show some of his work on social media, but not mentioning any names.

"And within half an hour, I had a friend of mine contacting me to see if they could buy one of the paintings because it was that good.

"He made a donation to First Market Bosworth Scout Group of £30. I think Louie was very shocked but I showed the paintings to Deana at Coalville CAN, and she said we needed to get his work shown there.

"It just snowballed after that. The three paintings Louie has in the exhibition all interlink, which I think is really good."

The paintings are entitled Black Gold, Transition and Regeneration.

Louie, from Barlestone, explained the thinking behind his work.

He said: "Black Gold is named after vein of coal in Coalville, it was very valuable back then.

"It represents the mining history of the town and it's probably the simplest of the three.

"Then Transition shows more nature and it gradually gets more detailed.

"It shows the area getting back to the nature.

Louie at the National Forest Art Exhibition at the Coalville CAN building in Memorial Square

"Then the the third one is more detailed and is called Regeneration and shows the mining has gone. It's set in the Sence Valley. The three paintings are a story."

Louie's Mum, Laura, added: "He's always loved art, but it's his nana, Steph McRoberts, who has the talent in the family.

"He goes to her house every week and they do their lessons together, she brings out the best in him and they take it step by step.

"It takes a while, but he really loves it and has worked hard and she's made him improve massively."

Now Louie is set to move on to another CAN exhibition this year.

Another local winner was woodsman Tony Smith who will be working with Louie on future projects.

He said: "I'm working more with woodland restoration and education and trying to bring the next generation into environmental causes.

"Hopefully this opportunity will raise the profile of the work done by the National Forest.

"A lot of work is done by volunteers and it's absolutely vital, the more publicity we can get for that, the better."