Worthing is a far cry from the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

But the genteel seaside town has developed a strange and surreal bond with the age of the pharaohs.

The walls of a firm of stonemasons in Worthing are covered in drawings usually found in the pyramids and temples.

After opening the creaky wooden door of a shed on Francis Tate's premises in North Street and pulling back a set of dust sheets, visitors find themselves in a world of tomb drawings and cartouches.

Tate's director John Tilley said: "About ten years ago a client ordered two large Egyptian revival-style fireplaces. They were made of cream limestone and had Egyptian carvings on them.

"One of our letter cutters, Mark Warden, became obsessed with Egyptian sculptures and hieroglyphics and he started drawing all over the walls in our Worthing and Brighton workshops.

"It didn't bother me as he did the drawings in his own time and it livened up the place."

Drawings adorning the walls of the shed include pharaohs, the Sphinx and gods. To the ancient Egyptians, these inscriptions were sacred.

Mr Warden became enthralled with the subject and started learning more about one of the world's oldest art forms.

As well as creating the wall paintings, he used his carving skills to create sculptures in the Egyptian style.

Today he lives in the United States, where he has set up the the New Jersey Egyptology Society.

He runs a carving school, teaching beginners how to carve hieroglyphs. He has also set up a web site about Egyptian stone carvings.

The stonemasons' workshop is not the only site in Worthing with an ancient Egyptian influence.

Several years ago the Kazbah pub opened on Worthing seafront with an ancient Egyptian theme, including murals.

The link continues with Worthing museum, which has an Egyptian glass vase found on Highdown Hill, overlooking Worthing.

It was possibly brought to the town by the Romans.