THE winner of a competition run by an Andover company calling on school pupils to design a lorry side safety panel has had their vision turned into a reality.

During the first Covid-19 lockdown while the schools were closed, Andover-based company Dawes Highway Safety LTD ran a national competition to inspire children across the UK to design their very own lorry side safety panel known as a PeoplePanel®.

With the permission of Saint-Gobain and Jewson, the company has now made the competition winner’s design a reality and this has been fitted to a real lorry driving round her local area in Newcastle.

A second vehicle based in Andover is due to be fitted with the same design in the near future.

SEE ALSO: One Stop store opens in Picket Piece

Managing director James Dawes said: “Being an Andover based family business we quickly recognised how children stuck at home were being disadvantaged.

"We used our commercial fleet contacts to put together a competition to get young people involved in road safety and give them hope for the future.

"We had hundreds of entries, but we felt the winner’s design had really embraced the wider road safety message.

"We are grateful to Jewson for their assistance as we made the project a reality for this very clever little girl”.

Throughout the pandemic, Dawes Highway Safety also produced government lorry signage which was used across the country and from which the company donated 100 per cent of its profit to the NHS.

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this story. We really appreciate your support.

Please help us to continue bringing you all the trusted news from Andover by sharing this story or by following our Facebook page.

Kimberley Barber