EBBW VALE artist Nathan Wyburn's latest artwork is shining a light on the importance of being able to provide children and young people with safe and loving homes.

While many of us have had family and friends there to support us during difficult times over the last year, many children and young people across Wales need that support now more than ever.

Foster Care Fortnight, which runs from Monday, May 10, until Sunday, May 23, is a national awareness-raising and recruitment campaign, run by The Fostering Network.

With this year’s theme being #WhyWeCare, Mr Wyburn, known for his unique methods of creating art, has produced a piece using LED lights to help prove how any house can become a safe and loving home.

He said: “I was sent a poem that encompassed everything foster carers do in providing a brighter future for children across Wales and wanted to create something that champions them in the way they open the doors to their homes – and their hearts.

"I chose to turn those words into art with a piece that signifies a home being the literal light at the end of the tunnel for children and young people.

"I think one of the biggest myths around fostering is that you have to have a big house with a big garden to be a foster carer – and that’s just not true.

People across Torfaen are being asked to show their support for Foster Care Fortnight by placing a lamp in their front window on Thursday, May 20, to ‘shine a light’ on the work being done by local authority foster carers, and celebrate their efforts in transforming children and young people’s lives.

Buildings across Wales, including the Civic Centre in Pontypool, will also be lit up in orange to observe the remarkable work they do.

Cllr Fiona Cross, Torfaen Council's executive member for children, families and communities, said: “Hundreds of new foster families are needed every year in Wales.

"Some people think you have to be in a relationship, or married, or own your own home, which is simply not true. Many people will have a spare bedroom that could become a sanctuary.”

If you think you could make a difference by becoming a foster carer in Torfaen, please visit torfaen.gov.uk/fostering