The Macclesfield Open Online Art Exhibition has been described as a "great success" after 236 local artists submitted 651 works to be displayed on the website.

Exhibition organiser Geoff Archer said it had three aims: to provide entertainment for art lovers, a platform for local artists to show their work and to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice.

Entry to the exhibition was free but exhibiting artists were encouraged to make a donation to the Hospice.

Carley Macey, the Community Fundraiser for the hospice said £2,643 was raised from 126 donations, but the actual total would certainly be higher as not everyone who donated would have mentioned the exhibition.

Geoff Archer said: "Many commented on how pleased they were to help such a good cause with more than one noting their admiration for the hospice based on their own personal experiences with family members."

Visitors to the website were encouraged to vote for their favourite work, with the winner receiving the £100 Visitors Choice Award, which was donated by Macclesfield Town Council.

Voters chose Tony Needham's painting, 'Ed'; a portrait of the singer Ed Sheeran. This piece was the clear winner with almost twice as many votes as the second favourite.

When told of his success, Tony exclaimed: "This is so amazing. I've never won anything with my art before, and the fact that there are so many great pieces of art, and so many artists involved is fantastic."

The former Macclesfield High School student only began taking his art seriously around four years ago.

He added: "Winning Macclesfield Online Art Exhibition has absolutely blown me away. People I don't even know have voted for my painting of Ed Sheeran, and I am so very pleased and grateful for their votes".

Out of the 651 works on show, 87 received votes as someone's favourite. Ali Stokes' pencil crayon drawing, 'Proud Highland', was in second place with works by Elizabeth Cookson, Angela Hogan and Natalie Newsome all proving particularly popular.

All of the works that received votes will be displayed on the website until the end of the month.