A FARM-BASED nursery near Darlington is celebrating after one of its young students won a national art competition.

Each year nurseries and schools from across the UK are invited to enter a competition run by the Mini Me Card Company to design artwork for a Christmas card.

This year’s competition attracted more than 13,000 entries and a card designed by four-year-old Samuel Pick was chosen as one of only nine winners.

Samuel, who lives in Richmond and attends High Bank Day Nursery in Stapleton, near Darlington, designed a card with Father Christmas on and is the only child from the region to win the competition.

For winning he has received a certificate and 20 cards with his design on it, and he has also helped his nursery win a prize of a hedgehog house.

Nursery manager Jennifer Thompson said: “We are so proud of Samuel for winning the competition and to discover he was the only child and we were the only nursery in the region to win makes it even more special.

“Being based on a working farm, we are hoping the hedgehog house will help us to attract lots of prickly creatures to our nursery garden.

“Creativity is very important for children as it helps them develop in so many ways and it’s great to see we have so many gifted and artistic children here at High Bank.

“Everyone who entered the competition did very well.”