The creations of young people from Tipton and Great Barr have won a competition run by Sandwell Council and Tipton-based manufacturer and supplier of road safety and infrastructure products, Mallatite Ltd.

Winner Laila-Mai, who attends Summerhill Primary Academy, designed comic book superhero “Look Out Laila” – whose superpower is spotting people using their phones while crossing the road and removing them so they can cross safely.

Signs featuring her superhero namesake will now be put up around her school.

Laila-Mai also won a £50 voucher and a £1,000 donation from Mallatite Ltd for her school. The donation will be spent on books and outdoor equipment.

Two prizes of £25 vouchers went to runners-up Clayton and Elizabeth from St Margaret’s CE Primary School in Great Barr for their designs – Magnet Man and Guardians of the Crossing. Their characters will also feature on signs around their school.

Laila-Mai, Clayton and Elizabeth received their prizes and were shown the new road signs with their designs in special assemblies this week.

The competition, which was open to Key Stage 2 children, formed part of the council’s activities around national charity Brake’s Road Safety Week in November 2021.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for environment Councillor Ahmad Bostan said: “Road safety is an absolute priority for the council and the education sessions we do in schools to teach children to be safe on the roads are a huge part of this.

“We received more than 60 entries from across Sandwell so a huge well done to the children who came up with the winning designs.”

Nicholas Johns from Mallatite Ltd, part of the Hill & Smith Group, said: “The entries that were received are excellent and captured many important aspects of road safety and the risks that were highlighted by the pupils.”

Dan Clues, General Manager at Mallatite Ltd,  Councillor Peter Hughes, Laila-Mai, Road Safety Education Officer for Sandwell Council Karen Hale, and Head of School Key Stage 2 at Summerhill Primary Academy Natalie Rich