A 10-year-old schoolgirl has earned herself a reputation as the "female Banksy" after creating a series of impressive graffiti artworks.

Solveig
Solveig: So far she has created 20 large-works which are typified by their bold, clean and colourful style
Known as Solveig, the primary-school pupil spray-paints her creations onto walls left on a patch of wasteland near her home.

Graffiti artist experts have called her "the young Picasso of street art", while magazine Graphotism said she was "a major talent".

Solveig, the girl's tag name and real first name, started painting her creations on special legal graffiti sites around Brighton, Sussex, at the age of eight.

So far she has created 20 large-works which are typified by their bold, clean and colourful style.

Her subjects have included cartoon characters, sharks, a snorkeller, zombies, and a fried breakfast.

The first three letters of her name, Sol, also frequently feature in the centre of the murals in large capitals.

All the works are signed and include a note to state how old she was when it was created.

Solveig, who would not disclose her surname, always poses next to her art works for a photograph, which she often posts online.

Apart from her talent for painting, Solveig is like any other schoolgirl and lists her interests as playing with Barbies and collecting Doctor Who cards.

She said: "I started watching people doing paintings and asked them if I could have a go."

Banksy, 34, from Bristol, is probably the world's most famous graffiti artist and has sold his works to celebrities for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Unlike Solveig, he has always kept his identity a secret.