Southsea resident 'amazed' when her house began to crumble - revealing a 'ghost' advert she plans to preserve

A SOUTHSEA resident was ‘amazed’ when part of her home collapsed – revealing a vintage advert that could date back to the 1920s.
Sarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea.
Picture: Richard LemmerSarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea.
Picture: Richard Lemmer
Sarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea. Picture: Richard Lemmer

Sarah Brady, a McDonalds shift manager, thought she heard ‘a car crash’ outside her home in Pretoria Road on Friday evening.

But she was told by her partner that part of the rendering on the property’s north facing wall had fallen down.

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Sarah said: ‘My son and I were looking out of the window to see if we could see a crash, and my boyfriend called up the stairs - “half the wall has fallen off”.

Sarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea.
Picture: Richard LemmerSarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea.
Picture: Richard Lemmer
Sarah Brady's house at 99a Pretoria Road Southsea. You can see the Advert as you drive down Winter Road, Southsea. Picture: Richard Lemmer

‘I couldn’t believe it.

‘We were a bit worried about it, but it wasn’t until the morning we could see what had been underneath the rendering.’

An old advert painted on to the brickwork has been revealed.

The 49-year-old-said: ‘It looks really similar to part of an advert on a Southampton house.’

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It’s believed the advert is for the now-defunct British electronics company ECKO, which made radios and then televisions from 1924 to 1960.

A house on St Denys Road, Southampton had a similar vintage sign – a so-called ‘ghost adverts’ – until the property was demolished earlier this year.

But the Sarah has no plans to cover or alter the piece of nostalgia.

She said: ‘We’re going to take the rest of the rendering down, hoping to start work next week.

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People have asked if we plan to give it a fresh coat of paint, but I like the idea that that it will fade with time.

‘If I painted over it it wouldn't be original.’

‘It's so amazing to see – I’m very excited to see it fully uncovered.’

But the company providing home insurance, AA, said they wouldn’t cover any costs incurred to remove the rest of the rendering, according to Sarah.

She said: ‘They say it’s bad workmanship. It’s like the rendering was not put up properly.

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‘They have said it’s just wear and tear, which they won’t cover. It’s very frustrating.’

And the old advert for consumer technology is proving popular – thanks to modern technology.

Sarah said: ‘My two kids have have already put pictures up on social media - they think it’s really cool.’