NEW posters designed by Holmes Chapel schoolchildren urging dog owners to pick up after their pets will soon be on display around the village, after winners were selected.

Pupils at Hermitage Primary School and Holmes Chapel Primary School were invited to design posters to raise awareness of the issue in the village, with one winner chosen from each.

Cllr Mike Street then attended assemblies at both schools to announce the winners and unveil the posters.

Francesca Caddy drew the winning design from Hermitage Primary, while Evie Bostock came out on top at Holmes Chapel Primary.

Clr Street told the Guardian: "After numerous complaints and concerns to the parish council about dog fouling for example, people not cleaning up after their dogs or not putting the dog poo bags into the bins provided and as most people are aware that if anyone comes into contact with it, it can cause very serious illness.

"So the parish council decided on a poster competition for the primary school children in Holmes Chapel.

"There were numerous entries from Hermitage Primary School and Holmes Chapel Primary School, all of which were very good.

"The two winners received a voucher each and a donation was given to the schools.

"The winning posters will be circulated around the village and we would like to think that dog owners will take notice of what the children of Holmes Chapel are saying."

The competition was run in conjunction with Cheshire East Council, to deter dog-walkers from choosing not to clear up their mess.

A spokesman for Holmes Chapel Parish Council added: “Dog fouling is a recurring and increasing problem on the streets of our village.

“To highlight the problem, the parish council recently ran a poster competition with both of the primary schools in the village, with the consent of CEC.

“The response to the competition was fantastic – with so many brilliant entries, it was a hard job for the judges to pick a winner.

“A winner was chosen from each primary school, and Cllr Street attended assemblies at each school to present the prizes."