Northumberland girl's drawing turned into mural on Tyne Tunnel
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Emily Clapham, 12, from Cramlington, won a public vote on social media with her design that shows a 1970s campervan - which was the first vehicle to travel through the Tyne Tunnels when it switched to open-road-tolling - and the bees that live at the tunnels.
Tunnels operator, TT2, launched a competition to find a design that celebrates the tunnels becoming more environmentally friendly, with faster journeys and reduced congestion, since the river crossing became barrierless last November.
The competition saw thousands of people vote.
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Hide AdChildren from across the North East submitted their entries, which were whittled down to four finalists.
Emily and her dad helped local artist Mark Shields paint the mural onto a wall at the Tyne Tunnels North site, in Wallsend.
Emily said: “Winning the competition has been an amazing experience.
“I am so proud of the design and how the artist recreated it for the mural. I never expected to be so huge.
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Hide Ad“Mark has really inspired me and he even let me help with the painting. I got to visit the Tyne Tunnels for a tour and even got to see the control room. I am so grateful for the opportunity and will never forget it.
Philip Smith, TT2 chief executive, said: “Emily’s design looks fantastic.
"We see it as a fitting tribute to the significant benefit to generations of children who live near the tunnels that C02 emissions have been cut so drastically thanks to open road tolling.”
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