A NEWPORT girl has won a national young artists award.

Ayesha Taniya, 10, competed against hundreds of children from across the UK to be named amongst the top 10 winning entries in the BIC® KIDS Young Artists Award.

A spokeswoman for BIC® KIDS said: "The award was designed to celebrate kids’ creativity by taking their creations beyond the fridge door and onto 120 billboards across the nation.

"Ayesha's work will be displayed on adverts across the country this September."

After the competition closed in August, all of the hand drawn entries were judged by a panel of experts.

Illustrator Phil Corbett, who sat on the competition judging panel, said: “The attention to detail in this picture is fantastic. Ayesha obviously knows a trick or two about drawing technique.

"Her pencil lines follow the lay of the tiger’s fur which adds to the realism of the piece. "It’s exceptional work for such a young artist!”

Henri Nicolau, general manager at BIC UK and Ireland, said they were "thrilled" to announce Ayesha as one of their top 10 winners.

He said: "We hope Ayesha likes the billboard that we’ve created, and that she continues doodling as she certainly has a natural talent for it.”