Pupils have collected more than 10,000 items of disposable plastic over a three-week period to help make an environmental difference.

Pupils at Larwood Primary School in Stevenage came up with the idea of a plastic awareness project and collected everything they used, from drinks bottles and straws to yoghurt pots and food packaging for recycling.

The ‘Captain Plastic’ title was awarded to the child in each class who collected the most items and artist James Perrett created hero figures based on the winners.

The pupils hope it will become an annual project for Stevenage schools.

Assistant headteacher Bianca Osobu said: “I’m very proud of our pupils for wanting to make a difference to our environment.

“We work hard to make a difference to our local environment and children collect rubbish from public outdoor spaces regularly.

“Hopefully our pupils have inspired change in others to reduce the use of plastic and recycle properly.”