A CHARITY for autistic children has received a financial boost thanks an Easter egg decorating competition.

Almost 500 votes were cast on social network site Facebook in the contest organised by telecommunications firm Odyssey Systems and it has proved to be a cracking week for the winner.

Eight staff members created their own individual eggs ranging from a depiction of John Lennon and “Yolko” Ono to the Addams Family, with £100 being donated to the Stockton-based charity Daisy Chain, which supports families affected by autism, a similar cash prize for the winner.

In contrast to previous years, where a director has judged the competition, the winning egg was chosen via Facebook, with members of the public voting for their favourite by clicking the “Like” button after photographs of each egg were posted on the company’s page, with 497 votes cast.

The winner, with 141 “likes”, was James Hay, with his mad hatter egg party. It is the start of a very big week for James, who works in Odyssey’s broadband team, as his partner, Victoria, who helped to make the winning creation, is due to give birth to their baby.

He said: “I am delighted to have won the Easter egg contest this year – it is always very competitive within the office, so I’m very proud to be the title holder until next year. The extra £100 is a great bonus and will certainly come in handy with the imminent birth of our new baby – I’ve already worked out how many nappies I can buy with my winnings.”

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