MORE than 100 young artists filled St Sampson's Square with colour when a pavement art competition was staged in the city centre.

Talented children aged between four and 18 were inspired by the riverside theme to create vibrant chalk drawings.

It was part of a national competition to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, with each competition held around the UK also raising cash for a local good cause.

Photographs of the winning pictures will be exhibited at Tate Britain in London later this year along with other winners from around the UK, when the overall competition winner will be presented with a £200 prize.

A total of 111 people each paid £1 to take part in the competition, which was judged by York artists Milladdio and Mark Braithwaite.

Jannah Warlow, from York, scooped the prize in the 16 to 18 age category, her brother, Corin, won the 12 to 15 category, Rosie Burch, from Tollerton, near Easingwold, won the nine to 11 section, Luke Hutchinson, from York, took the six to eight category and Angharard Poole, from York, won the four to five category.

Nationally, the money raised will be used to buy equipment for sufferers of Duchenne dystrophy, which mainly affects boys and impairs their walking, with the local share going to the Steiner School Russian Fund to enable as many children as possible at the York school to take part in a cultural visit to Nizhny Novgorad, in Russia, next year.

Organiser Denny Lane, a teacher at St Paul's Nursery, in St Paul's Square, off Holgate Road, York, said the competition was extremely successful and thanked the judges for their amazing contribution.

She said: "Both judges were a tremendous help and they were so supportive of the artists."

Updated: 11:30 Monday, May 27, 2002