A SCHOOLGIRL has been rewarded for her innovative hand-made poster that will be used to spearhead a litter awareness campaign across the Harrogate district.

Ten-year-old Cara-Jane Feingold is this year's winner of a poster competition for primary schoolchildren, held by bosses at Harrogate Borough Council.

The pupil, from Holy Trinity Junior School, Ripon, was yesterday presented with her £100 prize for her school fund from sponsors Graffiti-Solve, of Doncaster.

Cara-Jane's Bang It In The Bin poster will soon be appearing in council premises, commercial buildings and take-away outlets in the district to remind everybody of the importance of keeping the streets tidy.

The poster might be the spearhead of the long-running campaign, but Kevin Marriott, highway amenity manager, said many communities have already taken direct action to clean up their local environment.

"So far, 31 community clean-ups have been organised throughout the district, with more than 400 people taking part," he said.

"The work being done makes a tremendous difference, not just because it assists the street cleansing teams, but because the clean-ups are able to tackle pockets of land that are often off limits for the normal services."

Action is also planned against those responsible for litter, with street cleaning workers gearing up to serve fixed penalty notices of £50 against anyone caught dropping litter in the street.