A pupil designed a Christmas poster to be sent to servicemen and women away over the festive period.

Alife Douglas, a year four pupil at Garden Fields JMI School in St Albans, was selected as one of just two victorious designs, as part of Hertfordshire County Council’s Christmas Schools Art competition.

Now in its sixth year, the competition invited primary school pupils across the county to get creative and a theme of World War One was chosen.

After more than 800 entries, the winning designs were whittle down to Alfie’s poignant snowman covered in poppies and 11-year-old Annabelle Walsh from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Royston.

Alfie was presented with his prize at a school assembly on Monday – the second competition winner from Garden Fields who celebrated another winning entry in 2016.

St Albans & Harpenden Review:

Alfie's winning design

The two worthy winners, along with a friend and parent, will enjoy a day of activities courtesy of colleagues from Northwood HQ, the UK’s principal military headquarters site based in Hertfordshire.

Representatives from the RAF, Army and the Navy all attended prize-giving assemblies at both schools to talk about their work and how much they enjoyed seeing all the artwork submitted by the children.

Also attending the prize-giving assemblies were members of the 254 Medical Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps, who have a base in Hertfordshire. They brought along a military field ambulance for the children to see.