TWO Andover pupils have been named as the regional winners in a national cycling safety competition after wowing judges with their brand new design of a bike helmet.

The competition, launched last summer by national charity the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust and WD-40 multi-use product, urged primary school children to come up with a new design to be used on a bike helmet.

The initiative was a resounding success with more than 2,000 entries from youngsters across the UK.

The shortlisted designs were marked by a panel of expert judges from the cycling industry using criteria such as use of colour, originality and creativity.

Amy Bonarius and Tom Kynaston impressed the judges with their designs. Amy created a snazzy, colourful design while Tom went for cheerful stripes.

Tom and Amy, both 11, attended Balksbury Junior School before moving on to John Hanson Community School.

The pair won the junior school a cycling safety assembly with special guest Angie Lee, chief executive of the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust.

Angie advised pupils about the lifesaving benefits of wearing a bike helmet and talked about the importance of keeping your bike well maintained to stay safe.

In the assembly, Angie presented Amy and Tom with a certificate of achievement and a goodie bag full of cycling merchandise and toys.

Angie said: “We know that image and peer pressure is one of the big factors that deters a lot of young cyclists from wearing a helmet and this project gave us a fascinating insight into what young people themselves find appealing.

“We were extremely impressed with the high level and quality of entries. There are certainly some extremely artistic youngsters out there and I’d like to congratulate Amy and Tom on their fantastic designs.”