A CREWE businessman has written a poem focusing on the town's railway heritage and how he believes HS2's arrival will spearhead future growth.

Gareth Williams, owner of Construction Linx at Crewe Hall Enterprise Park, contacted HS2 at the height of the pandemic and explained how he'd been inspired to start writing poetry about his love for the town and its proud connection to the railway.

His latest poem, We Owe It All to Yorkshire's Joseph Locke (A poem for Crewe), celebrates the role that the lesser known engineer to Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel played in the establishment of Britain's railways.

The West Coast Main Line is still considered to be Locke's greatest legacy and Gareth's poem celebrates his belief that the town still owes him thanks today.

Gareth marks the significant moment that HS2 was awarded powers to construct and operate the West Midlands – Crewe extension of Britain's new high speed railway.

His poem charts how HS2 will "bring inspiration for a future generation" and his belief that it will see Crewe return to "an industrial paradise".

Gareth said: "Crewe has clearly been a vital link in this country's railway history and it is now time for HS2 to play a pivotal role in the future for the people of this area, once again placing Crewe at the centre of this country's railway heritage."

Jason Pacey, Head of Community and Stakeholder Engagement at HS2 said: "We were delighted to hear from Gareth and it is great that HS2's arrival is not only inspiring his creativity, but his belief that it will play a significant role in the town's future.

"With 34,000 jobs forecast to deliver HS2 and the Alstom factory in Crewe set to play a major role in the assembly and maintenance of our brand new fleet of high speed trains, it is without doubt an exciting time for the town."

Gareth built up a portfolio of poems during the pandemic, earning plaudits for performing his street poems on his YouTube channel after starting off writing verses about the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

He also penned an an ode to Sir Captain Tom to mark the lockdown hero's funeral last year.