FOUR lorry drivers from a Fenland haulage firm will proudly take their families across the country over the next three months as part of an innovative public art project.

Even though their loved ones will remain at home during their stints on the road, the four drivers from Savage Haulage in March will display gigantic family photos on the side of their vehicles.

The travelling multimedia arts project, which deals with themes of absence and loneliness, was launched on Saturday at the firm’s depot in Marwick Road.

Artist Mat Hand’s concept - Take Me With You - took two years to complete.

Mr Hand, who was born in Nottingham but now lives in Berlin, said: “More and more people work away from home to make ends meet and a lorry driver is a classic example of a job where this happens.

“I’m away from home a lot and it can be upsetting and lonely and these are themes that are touched on in this project.”

Extracts from children’s poems, taken from workshops led by poet Andy Tooze in Derbyshire, appear on the back of the lorries.

Both sides of Andy Macphee, Lindsey Scott, Paul Stearman and Francisco Ramos’s lorries contain one gigantic images of their families. They will remain there until April.

Ms Scott, from Huntingdon, who is often away for five or six days at a time, described the concept as a “wicked idea”. Her son-in-law, Christopher Setchell, said the family were “absolutely thrilled” to be involved.

The project was supported by Junction Arts, Arts Council England and HaulinAds of York - who produce lorry-side advertising.

Richard Cox, the managing director of HaulinAds, said: “A photo on the side of a lorry is a simple concept as such but this looks fantastic - it really has that wow factor.”

Martin Savage, joint-owner of Savage Haulage, said his firm got involved because his drivers were “very excited” about the idea.

Each driver was presented with a framed photo and flowers by Mr Hand, who attended the launch with a number of key project figures including photographer Manuel Reinartz and web artist Ben Harris.

The public are encouraged to take pictures of the lorries during their travels over the coming months and upload them to the project’s website.

Visit: www.takemewithyou.co.uk for more details.