A HOLY image that appeared at a Portland man’s time of need has been immortalised– on the side of a mug.

They say a cup of tea can cure anything, but now it comes with an extra–special blessing.

Portlander Stuart Fretwell was amongst the residents whose homes were pounded by storms in 2014.

And whilst mopping up water from his leaking roof, he came face-to-face with the ‘Rolly Ghost.’ Stuart tore open a fresh roll of paper towels to be confronted with a Jesus-like face.

Tarpaulin wasn’t stopping the water from flooding in and the kitchen roll face seemed like a lucky omen for Stuart.

At the time, with his roof leaking and problems with his insurance, Stuart said he was assured by the Holy face.

But despite his best efforts, the damp conditions in the house meant the face quickly disappeared.

At the time, Stuart had the idea to sell mugs with an image of the ‘Portland Shroud’ but couldn’t do it cost– effectively.

So for the time being, he has been satisfied with just producing one ‘Holy’ mug– for himself.

Stuart said: “I thought of making mugs at the time but I couldn’t find anywhere cheap enough.

“I’ve got one, that’s it. I used to have a shop on Portland, that’s what set me off.”

Stuart’s sister-in-law was the first person to christen the image in the kitchen roll the Portland Shroud and so he is looking forward to sneaking her a cup of tea in the mug the next time she’s round.

The mug also features a picture of Stuart’s wife and daughter sitting on the hill next to St Catherine’s Chapel in Abbotsbury.

He said it was nice to have a reminder of the kitchen towel that was a good sign during a time of hardship.

The phenomenon of seeing faces in objects is known as pareidolia.

Dorset has had several incidents of the phenomenon, with the face of Jesus spotted in the clouds over Weymouth during a solar eclipse last year.

A face was also been seen in the waves at Lyme Regis that was said to look like Jesus.

Experts say we see faces in objects because of evolutionary heritage.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Nouchine Hadjikhani of Harvard University said humans are “prewired” to detect faces.

“After a few minutes of life, a baby will direct his attention toward something that has the general features of a face versus something that has the same elements but in a random order,” she said.