The leafy tranquillity of Brampton Road today is a million miles from the mean streets of Birmingham gangland in the 1920s.

But the immense distance hasn’t stopped an artist from the University of Cumbria receiving a boost to his career from a notorious Brummie gangster.

For 23-year-old illustrator Harry G Ward has seen that if crime doesn’t pay, crime paintings do. His digital portrait of Tommy Shelby – the central character in BBC drama Peaky Blinders – has appeared on roadside billboards up and down the country. It’s also on the BBC’s digital, online and social platforms.

The artwork, entitled “Cracks”, has formed part of the publicity campaign for the fifth series of the drama, set in the aftermath of World War One, when crime gangs roamed the streets of Birmingham and violently competed for control.

It captures different sides of the ambitious and highly cunning Shelby, played by actor Cillian Murphy.

Harry, who graduated with a degree in illustration from the university’s Institute of the Arts last year, entered his work in an art competition run by BBC Creative.

Entrants were invited to submit a static poster artwork inspired by characters in the drama. More than 1,000 pieces were submitted and only 16 winners were chosen. Each winner received £1,000.

And Harry said it felt “too good to be true” when he discovered he was one of them.

“I entered the competition initially to try and add something to my portfolio,” he said. “I had no thought of winning.

“This has given me a big boost, particularly in my mind of where my work can take me.

“The exposure has been way greater than I could have ever imagined. Seeing it up on a billboard is one thing, but the use of the artwork on BBC iPlayer and on the homepage of Sky is very surreal.”

The work was created using a tablet, stylus and Photoshop software.

He explained: “The main direction in the brief was to convey two sides of main character Tommy Shelby – the side that’s becoming crippled under the weight of power and circumstances, and the strong leader who manages to keep his composed exterior.

“The best way to show this was to convey several emotions in one scene, inspired by multiple exposure photography.”

Dwayne Bell, programme lead for illustration at the university’s Institute of the Arts, has supported Harry since completing his degree.

He added: “It pleases me no end to see Harry’s illustration begin to gain recognition.

“It’s quite a surprise to turn the TV on and be confronted by your student’s art.

“I’ve got no doubt that if he continues to dedicate himself, we’ll all be seeing a lot more of it in the future.”

The final episode of Peaky Blinders series five, on BBC One on Sunday night, pulled in 3.84 million viewers – beating the record set by the finale of series three, which drew an audience of 3.76 million.

Two more series will follow, as writer Steven Knight plans to take the story up to the outbreak of World War Two.