Schoolchildren are being asked to make sculptures out of rubbish in a bid to promote recycling.

Banbury mayor, Cllr Jim Vine, is sponsoring a competition for pupils at all town schools. He wants them to create a 'wild waste rubbish sculpture' out of throwaway household items.

He will present the winners of each age category with a trophy and Oxfordshire County Council will give each winner £100 to go to their school.

The theme for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils is The weather and for older students it is Climate Change.

Entries must be taken to Banbury Town Hall by Wednesday, April 24, for judging.

Mr Vine has sent a letter to the schools inviting them to take part.

He said: "The competition will be fun and will teach the future generation the importance of our environment."

Every entry must be free-standing, portable and made of things previously used and suitable for recycling.

The trophies will be shields for the winners to keep for a year and replicas for them to keep permanently. It is hoped to make the competition an annual event.