YOUNG people helping to restore pride in their community were rewarded yesterday.

Pupils at four schools were asked to design posters to promote litter awareness to launch the Pride in Consett North initiative.

The campaign, funded by the Northern Rock Foundation, is a project between Consett North Partnership and environmental group Groundwork West Durham. It aims to improve the area by reducing litter, dog fouling and graffiti.

The competition was judged by PC Chris Stamp, and the winners were announced yesterday.

The schools that took part were St Patrick's RC Primary School, Villa Real Special School, and Consett Infants School and Consett Juniors.

The winner from Key Stage 1 at St Patrick's was Shara Hanna. Second place went to Laura Malpass and third was Jessica McCrory.

The winner from Key Stage 2 was Lauren Field, second was Tom Conlin and third was Kirsty Dixon.

At Consett Infants School, first prize went to Thomas High, while Matthew Davison came second and Jonathan Smith won third.

The winners from Villa Real and Consett Junior will receive their prizes next week.

Along with individual prizes for the designs, each school will receive an environmental resource pack from Groundwork West Durham, including ideas for games and activities, wildlife books and magnifying glasses.

The litter awareness project was the first scheme in the Pride in Consett North campaign. Next year, campaign organisers will start an initiative to microchip pets and clamp down on dog fouling.

This will be followed by a project looking at making the most of open spaces.