Artist performs for love

Andre Stitt was going kick the curry

A performance artist is due to wander around a town with a placard proclaiming a Valentine's Day message of love.

Andre Stitt, who hit the headlines last week when it was revealed he was to kick a curry carton down a High Street also in the name of art, is due to start his performance in Bedford at 1300 GMT on Friday.

Mr Stitt has received a grant of £12,200 from Bedford Creative Arts (BCA) for a series of live performances in the town.

The carton-kicking stunt has now been scrapped but others are planned.

Mr Stitt is being paid £12,200

The first performance took place last week when Irishman Mr Stitt walked a few hundred yards dressed in an Italian football shirt and carrying a hod loaded with bricks.

All the performances are under the heading of The Bedford Project and are being filmed and photographed.

They will form part of an art exhibition to be shown in the town this autumn.

BCA describes The Bedford Project as "an innovative new body of work" by internationally acclaimed artist Mr Stitt.

He has worked as a performance artist since 1976, producing hundreds of unique performances at major galleries and festivals around the world.

Mr Stitt is performing eight other pieces as part of the town's art project including dropping red roses from an aircraft in memory of wartime band leader Glenn Miller and sitting in a garden shed talking to anybody who visits him.