I thought my street needed to mark this moment - hopefully, it's just the start

A man who left a makeshift tribute to actor Bernard Hill on his street hopes it could lead to the creation of a permanent monument in the city.

Bernard Hill, most famous on Merseyside for his role as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale's Liverpool-set 1982 series 'Boys from the Blackstuff', died on Sunday, May 5. Tributes flooded in for the actor, whose six-decade career saw him star in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and 'Titanic'.

Among those tributes was a cardboard sign placed outside 13 Kelvin Grove in Toxteth - Yosser's address in the series. The message on it reads: "Yosser Hughes, a family man, lived here 1982. RIP Bernard Hill."

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Jeremy Hawthorn, 69, was behind the tribute, dropping the sign off outside the home earlier this week. He told the ECHO he hopes it can lead to a permanent memorial, paying tribute to the actor and the seminal TV drama which charted the challenges of life in 1980s Liverpool.

Jeremy said: "I've lived in Kelvin Grove for about 35 years. I wasn't here when the series was filmed, but I realised (it was Yosser's street) when a friend was standing on my doorstep, turned to look towards the Anglican Cathedral and said: 'That's a view from Boys from the Blackstuff'."

"You see the house in episode four, called 'Yosser's Story'. His story is really about how he loses his sons to social services.

"You see external shots which are clearly number 13 Kelvin Grove. It was from the time when the street is cobbled - police break in through the back of the house and the two boys are taken away.

"For all of the poverty and all of the difficulty, there is an enormous bond between Yosser's sons and him. That's why I went for the slogan 'a family man'.

"I don't think anyone has said that about Yosser Hughes. I haven't seen any commentary that has shown any focus on the bond he has with his kids - I think that's an important part of who he is.

"I dropped the sign off outside the house on Tuesday (May 7) to mark Bernard Hill's passing. I had no idea how long it would last. It’s for the moment."

As a lasting tribute, Jeremy would like to see a blue plaque installed at the address, marking Mr Hill's performance and the impact of Yosser as a character. The official blue plaque scheme is run by English Heritage, paying tribute to real-life historical figures.

Liverpool Council has also installed commemorative plaques at historical sites across the city, marking significant people and buildings. Though a plaque for a fictional character would be unconventional, Jeremy thinks the address' link to Yosser should be marked in a permanent manner.

He explained: "I spoke to an artist friend Nina Edge, who designed a blue plaque for Yosser. We had an initial chat with the woman who lived in number 13, but she passed away.

"The address thinks it’s Airbnbs now. It's been converted - I’ve met a few people staying there. It would be nice if the house could have it.

"There’s room for a tribute of some sort. It would be a suitably quirky thing to do - to have a plaque for a fictional character.

"It’s an extremely well-acted performance and It’s a creature of its time, that early Thatcher era. I don’t know what else there is to commemorate 'Boys from the Blackstuff' - people were blown away by it.

"If there isn’t anything else to mark it with, then there should be. Hopefully, this is the start."

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