A striking street art mural in England documents a family's escape from war-torn Syria.

The poignant portrait of Ayman Hirh, who fled Damascus with his wife and two young sons in late 2011, was painted by London-based graffiti artist PANG on a wall in Camden in northern London.

Hirh decided to leave his country after a crackdown on demonstrators in which nine of his friends were killed, reports the British Red Cross.

He added his own hand-written and thought-provoking message just below his portrait in PANG's piece.

"I was a successful businessman, selling marble and granite across Syria and living with my wife and two sons in the Jobar district of Syria's capital Damascus," he inked on the wall.