SCORES OF schools from across Fareham took part in the anti-vandal poster competition that was launched as part of the vandal crackdown by Fareham Council and the police.

More than 200 entries were received by the Daily Echo in response to the competition we launched to find a design that will be made into a poster - promoting the anti-vandalism campaign across Fareham.

Most of the children who drew these designs had suffered first-hand from the havoc caused by vandals who regularly target schools.

A panel of judges spent yesterday poring over the entries in a bid to whittle them down to a shortlisted few, all of which came really close to winning the top prize.

The panel was made up of representatives from both Hampshire police and Fareham Council, which are spearheading the crackdown, with Anne Parmiter from the Fareham Art Group, who was able to give her expert opinion.

Mrs Parmiter said: "The standard of entry has been very high. Picking the best of them called for very long deliberations."

Fellow panel member Councillor Sean Woodward, Fareham Council's Executive leader, praised the Daily Echo for organising the event.

"It is certainly a good idea to take this to the children whose schools are often the target of vandalism and also to get the message across to the young people who cause this sort of damage to our property that vandalism will not be tolerated.

"I think this was an excellent initiative."

His words were echoed by Chief Inspector Kerry Bedford of Fareham police, who was also on the judging panel.

"We would encourage any sort of initiative that helps educate young people against this sort of behaviour," he said.

See today's Daily Echo to see some of the entries and keep reading this week to find out who won the poster competition.