'I had to have huge university banner showing me'

A Coventry University graduate whose face was used on promotional banners across the city decided she wanted to cut one down as a souvenir.

Barefoot and in her graduation dress, Jennifer Marlow posted a video on TikTok, showing her cutting down one of the posters on a lamppost outside the city's Lanchester Central Library.

Known as Jen the student, from Birmingham, told BBC CWR: "I'm just there barefoot in my graduation dress cutting it on the floor and people are like, 'What is she doing?' and I said, 'Don't worry it's me, I'm taking me'."

The huge poster now has pride of place in the living room of her family home as her mother is "so proud of it".

Marlow said she initially wanted to take all of the posters dotted around the city as souvenirs - but she soon realised that the one she cut off only just about fitted into her car.

She said: "I had to put my seats down in the car. I was going to take all of them that are around the city, but I didn't realise how big just the one was.

"I posted the video on the way home from graduation and it had about 10,000 views and 600 likes in two hours, and I knew it was going to blow up," she added.

The university even joined in on the fun, commenting on the video, which has now amassed more than 1.4m views, saying "we're going to miss you, at least this way you'll never forget us" and that it was a "crime of passion".

Marlow, who graduated from the university with a business and marketing degree, said she got chosen to be part of the campaign but didn't know when the posters would be released - until one day when she was out in the city.

"I was just shopping in Coventry and I was like, 'Wait a second, that's me!'," she said.

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