A carpenter has been urged to shut up shop and turn his workshop into a place of pilgrimage - after discovering the face of Jesus peering back at him from a kitchen cupboard. Furniture maker Mat Askham was putting an oil-based finish on the inside of a cupboard he'd been working on when he spotted the face of the son of God staring back at him from the knots in the wood. The 51-year-old was putting the lacquer onto the ash double-door shaker cupboard to 'lift' the detail in the grain on Thursday when the face emerged.
A striking image of the Christ-like face shows clearly-defined eyes, a nose, moustache, beard and trademark flowing locks. Mat, who specialises in bespoke kitchens, immediately took a snap of the six-inch tall holy visage and sent it to family and friends who were stunned by the likeness. The dad-of-two said the discovery was even more bizarre given that minutes prior he'd spent half an hour catching up with a Christian pal.
One mate was so chuffed by the find that he jokingly suggested he should shut his business Peck & Chisel down and start charging folk to visit the site. After sharing the snap on social media it went viral, racking up more than 1,300 likes, shares and comments. Mat, from Exeter, Devon, said: "I've had the piece of ash sat looking at me in my workshop for quite some time. I'm making a kitchen for someone and it was only when I applied an oil finish on it, to lift the detail in the grain up, that it mysteriously appeared in front of me.
