SEVEN young artists have brightened up the district's street cleansing vehicles with artwork they created for a competition.

The Forest of Dean District Council's Joint Waste Team and Biffa in Cinderford asked local primary and secondary school-aged children to design a poster to illustrate the problem of litter.

The winning designs by Flora Waters (Redbrook Primary School), Darcey Emmott-Hughes (Offa's Mead Academy) and Cherie Kwok (High School for Girls, Gloucester), along with a joint entry by Holly Clifford, Abby Walker, Tegan Smith, Isabelle Jones (Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre) will now be used as livery on Biffa's street cleansing trucks which are used daily by a team of operatives who are responsible for keeping the Forest of Dean clean.

Councillor Marrilyn Smart (Con, Christchurch and English Bicknor), Cabinet member for the Environment at the Forest of Dean District Council, said: "The entries have been really outstanding and we have been impressed by the level of understanding that the children have shown about the problems of littering. 

"Litter harms our wildlife and local environment but there is a high financial cost too. In total it is estimated that 30 million tonnes of litter are collected from streets in England every year, costing close to a £1 billion to clear up. The more that we all do to eliminate litter can only be good news for the tax payer."

Manager of Biffa's depot at Cinderford, James Walker added: "We received over 130 entries and had a very tough decision in choosing our winners. We would like to thank all the children and schools which took part in the competition. 

"The new livery will continue to spread the message about why litter is such a problem and what actions we should all take to prevent it."