THE creator of cartoon series, The Shoe People, has been impressed by pupils’ storytelling skills at his local school.

A writing contest at Chaddesley Corbett Endowed Primary was judged by James Driscoll, who lives in the village.

Winner, Emily Harrison, 11, who has dyslexia, scooped a signed storyboard of her tale, drawn by Rob Lee, the artist behind The Shoe People.

Themed on the environment, The Leafless Story centres around a young boy who tries to save the world as it gets darker and trees begin to die.

Emily said: “I can’t believe I have won. To see the storyboard is fantastic.”

She will now progress to the district level of the contest, run by the Rotary Club, with the chance of making the national finals.

Mr Driscoll said: “The work that the children entered was excellent, so much so that I made sure every pupil was highly commended. I think it’s really important to encourage children to write. When I was a small boy I loved writing but I never thought at any time that I would be an author.

“It’s unbelievable what can happen to you, just from sitting down and starting to write.”

The Shoe People ran for two years on ITV breakfast show, TV-am in the 1980s and has been shown across the globe.

Mr Driscoll’s latest project is called The Zoo Factor, a cartoon with animals playing the roles of judges, including a lion as a Simon Cowell-type figure. He is also working on two new series for Channel Five.