Students from Ashville College Junior School have been taking part in a competition to collect and recycle as many old Yellow Pages directories as possible.

To celebrate their achievement in gathering more than 1,800 old copies, compared to the 1,100 they collected last year, the pupils created a giant sunflower on the school playground.

One of the pupils, Emily Headford, managed to collect 300 directories by herself after writing to family and friends asking for their support.

Ashville Junior School teacher, and green champion, James Dewhirst said: "The sculpture is a really fun way of showcasing the achievement of the pupils. I thought we did well 12 months ago, but this has just been fantastic.

"We have chosen the sunflower to make the most of the bold yellow of the directories.

"In doing so it will be a striking and eye-catching way of raising awareness about the importance of recycling – something which, as an eco-friendly school, we are determined to promote."

The Directory Recycling Scheme aims to increase the number of old Yellow Pages recycled throughout the UK, and since it was launched in September 2002, more than 1.7 million schoolchildren have taken part nationwide.