Many people dream of seeing themselves on the front cover of an album, but for the regulars of the Neptune Arms the dream has become a reality.

When graphic designer Andy Clarke heard the owners of the pub in Kingsway, Hove, were selling up, he decided to make them a leaving card they would not forget.

Mr Clarke, 42, of Marmion Road, Hove, spent two months secretly photographing the pub locals to produce a picture inspired by the front cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, with the owners Cliff and Di Smithson and Jan and Alan Ayr as the Fab Four and the regulars and a few celebrity guests around them.

When the sale of the pub fell through Mr Clarke was left with an unnecessary leaving card.

But so many people wanted a copy of it that he decided to print them for charity.

Mr Clarke said: “Many of the regulars who signed it asked me for a copy of the print, so bar manager Karl Corbett and I decided it would be a good idea to sell numbered prints for charity.

“Karl lost his father earlier in the year and I lost a friend last year, both to cancer. Macmillan Cancer Care had been marvellous in both cases so it became our chosen charity.”

Mr Clarke spent between ten and 15 hours putting the picture together and has dotted stars including Frank Zappa, Sid James and Dusty Springfield among the regulars.

Pictures of the bands who have played at the pub are in frames at the front of the picture or on posters in the alleyways.

All 50 copies have now been sold, raising £450 for Macmillan.

Mr Clarke said: “The Neptune is a very musical pub. It's famed for the quality of the musicians and singers who play there and the gigs are always free to attend, with the pub paying the artists itself.

“Twice this year, Gary Moore has turned up to play free gigs with his friend, the renowned bluesman, Papa George.

“At the other end of the scale it provides less well-known, usually Sussex-based, musicians and bands with regular gigs and an audience that wants to listen.

“The pub enjoys a great relationship with its regulars who range from students to pensioners, from all walks of life.”

Since the sale fell through the owners have taken a step back by appointing former barman Kev Symons and his partner Stacey Doyle as tenant managers.

Mr Clarke said: “They have been well received by all and are setting about putting their own mark on the place, without destroying the character of a much loved Brighton and Hove institution.”