Lucy R, aged six, from Wakefield and Betty F aged nine from Hexham, have won the regional prizes for the annual schools’ carbon monoxide (CO) safety competition.

Organised by the UK’s four gas distribution networks and supported by the Energy Networks Association, the competition calls for creative young people aged five to eleven to use their creative skills to help raise awareness of the dangers of CO.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the gas distributor for the North East, northern Cumbria and much of Yorkshire, received some fantastic entries in this year’s competition from school children, and clubs and organisations for young people.

Entries ranged from videos, presentations, posters, cartoons, and poems, all designed to warn of the dangers of the deadly gas, known as the ‘silent killer’ as it can’t be seen, smelled, heard or tasted.

As NGN’s regional winners, Betty and Lucy won £150 for themselves and £300 for their schools.

Betty attends Hexham Middle School and is NGN’s Key Stage 2 regional winner. She created a fantastic poster highlighting the key messages people need to understand about CO poisoning.

Lucy, who attends Wakefield Grammar Pre-Preparatory School, created a powerful video highlighting the dangers and symptoms of CO poisoning to take the NGN Key Stage 1 prize.

Lucy trumped the rest of the competition across the UK to then secure the national KS1 award for students aged five to eight. Her creative and informative video could be used as a tool at national level to educate young people about CO poisoning.

As Lucy won the UK national prize, she was awarded £450 for herself and £900 for Wakefield Grammar Pre-Preparatory School in total.

When receiving her prize, Lucy’s Head Teacher, Emma Gill, said: “Lucy winning the competition has helped spread awareness around the dangers of CO and how to ensure CO safety across the school community.

“We are extremely proud of Lucy and delighted that she’s become an advocate for promoting the dangers of CO poisoning. We are looking at incorporating the video into school life with a plan ready to roll out in September.

“On behalf of the school community I would like to say a massive thank you to Lucy for teaching us all about CO safety.”

NGN’s Vulnerability Innovations Lead Steve Dacre said: “Along with the other gas network companies, we were impressed by the creative entries that were submitted for this year’s competition and we hope that the process involved has helped the students, their households, schools and organisations, to recognise the potential dangers of CO.

“CO has no smell, taste or colour and lives are lost every year because of CO poisoning. It’s through awareness initiatives like this competition that safety messages such as getting gas appliances safety checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the need for an audible CO alarm can reach more people across the UK and save lives.”