One man’s rubbish became a treasure trove of crafty excitement for two little girls.

The youngsters have been rewarded for their ingenious thinking by Carlisle City Council, after winning the Get Creative competition.

Isabel, seven and from Cargo, and three-year-old Emma from Carleton are now proud owners of hampers crammed with arts and crafts.

Isabel’s winning entry saw her create a marble run from waste items found around the house and garden. Alongside her email entry she said she had had “lots of fun playing outside with our creation”.

Emma’s entry saw her decorate plastic bottles with tissue paper to create lanterns.

Her mum added the frame to give an idea of how it can be used. She said: “We really enjoyed making this and had a great time.”

The competition was open to all Carlisle district children aged up to 11, and was organised as part of the build-up to Recycle Week (September 21 to 27).

The photos of the children’s artwork were judged by the Mayor of Carlisle, Councillor Marilyn Bowman and portfolio holder for environment and transport, Councillor Nigel Christian.

Mrs Bowman wrote to the winning entrants to pass on her congratulations.

She said: “Councillor Christian and I were both really impressed with Isabel and Emma’s fantastic efforts. The City of Carlisle are proud of their talent and innovation.”

Mr Christian added: “The Mayor and I thought both winning entries were very creative. Well done Isabel and Emma!

“Thanks for taking the time to create such wonderful objects.”

Now in its 17th year, Recycle Week was a celebration of recycling, organised by WRAP under the Recycle Now brand.

This year, the theme was to thank the nation for continuing to recycle despite the challenges that Covid-19 has presented under the banner ‘Together - We Recycle’.