Children design biking posters (From Free Press Series)

Children design biking posters

LOCAL schoolchildren have joined Torfaen Community Safety Partnership's fight against illegal motor biking.

Artistic youngsters were invited to design posters to be used in a publicity campaign to help educate youngsters and the public about the dangers of riding motorcycles, go-peds and mini-motos both on and off road.

Thomas Beard, aged 12 from West Monmouth School, was announced the winner and presented with £20 worth of WH Smith vouchers, while Bethan Douglas and Rebekah Morris, also from West Monmouth, were runners-up.

The winning design will be displayed in and around Torfaen in schools and other public places.

The competition coincided with the launch of a new strategy document to tackle the problem of illegal motor biking.

The document has been developed by the Community Safety Partnership in conjunction with Gwent Police. It has been launched to "deal effectively" with the antisocial behaviour associated with biking, which not only affects the quality of life of local residents, but also damages the environment. The document identifies educating children and the public about the issues surrounding the problem as a key objective.

Cllr Gwyneira Clark, executive member for housing and community safety, said: "Off road bikers have been a problem in Torfaen for a while and we need to make people aware of the dangers it causes. It's great to get local schools involved as they also need to learn about the dangers of illegal motorbikes."