WHEN ten year old Nia Rose entered a competition to design a road safety poster for local ice cream man Chris Copner, little did she realise that it would result in her entire school enjoying a free ice cream during the final week of term.

Working in conjunction with The Abergavenny Chronicle, Chris launched the poster competition earlier this year and was completely overwhelmed by the number of entries from local schools as well as individuals.

“The standard was incredibly high and it was very difficult to chose an overall winner but Nia’s was so eye-catching it stood out,” said Chris, who judged the competition alongside Chronicle editor Liz Davies.

“We loved the fact that Nia had highlighted so many of the dangers of driving, especially on country roads,” he added.

As part of the prize Chris not only served up a delicious ice cream treat to every child in Nia’s school - Ysgol Gymraeg Y?Fenni - but also arranged for a visit to the school by community police officer Ruth Moyes, who spoke to all the pupils about road safety.

Completing the road safety line up was a team from Abergavenny Fire Station who offered pupils the chance to climb aboard a fire engine and learn more about their vital work.

“It was a brilliant afternoon and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I even stood up in front of the whole school with PCSO?Moyes and helped give out pencils and stickers to all the children,” said Chris.

Chris has run his popular road safety poster competition for the past four years and says its not only a way to encourage children to think about road safety but also a way for him to give something back to the community.