“THIS is lovely!” said a pedestrian. “We want more of this!”

He was walking through the Leeman Road tunnel. But it wasn’t the tunnel itself he was referring to. It was the art installation being plastered on the tunnel’s walls.

Throughout this week, artist and designer Deborah Bowness will be hanging her distinctive wallpaper up at sites around the city.

Yesterday, she was doing the Leeman Road tunnel. Today, all being well, she will be at the Bonding Warehouse. She and her sister/business manager Leigh also plan to put up wallpaper in some of York’s snickelways, and in the windows of the former Past Times shop in Castlegate.

The idea is to create a city-wide art installation known as Paper Trail, which will remain in place throughout May. “Although if people want to keep it up longer, they can,” said Leigh.

The sisters grew up in Stillingfleet, and Deborah studied art at York College.

The pair have a workshop and factory at Riccall, and Deborah’s designer wallpaper now hangs in homes and businesses around the world.

Her designs are quirky, often employing “trick of the eye” techniques. Her plan for the Leeman Road tunnel included collages of wallpaper designed by students at York College, as well as her own designs showing items of furniture, and views through windows looking at York scenes such as the Minster.

“There will also be secret doorways that look as though they lead somewhere else,” she said.

Deborah dubbed her installation the “Debbsie” – after Banksie, the graffiti artist. “But hopefully it will stop people graffiting,” she said. “It’s the rules of the street. You don’t graff over somebody’s graff.”

Sisters Maureen Noble and Carol Hewson, walking through the tunnel yesterday, gave the thumbs-up to the Paper Trail project, which is supported by the city council and Reinvigorate York. “I think it’s a brilliant idea!” said Carol. “It’s this kind of thing I love about living in York.”