Schoolchildren have helped design the first ever Coat of Arms for Great Harwood.

Civic Society leaders tasked local pupils to draw up their own ideas featuring the town’s unique history and landmarks.

A working panel was then set up to pull together the best ideas into a final design.

This will now be placed on Town Crier Rawden Kerr’s uniform and flags and smaller versions of the design will be placed around the town.

Val Austin, of the Great Harwood Civic Society, said the children did an ‘absolutely fantastic’ job.

She said: “One thing we don’t have in Great Harwood is a Coat of Arms.

“We have bits belonging to Hyndburn and other places but nothing that is uniquely our own.

“We decided a few months ago, now that our Town Crier is part of the Town Criers Guild, that we would like a Coat of Arms of our own.”

Val said they had responses from St Hubert’s with St Wulstan’s and St John’s schools in Great Harwood and Norden High School in Rishton.

She said: “They got their pupils to each design a Coat of Arms and the work they have done is absolutely fantastic. Some of the designs are hilarious.

“We wanted them to put things on that are important to them in the town and one had the Clayton Street Chippy which was great.

“After we received all the designs we went through to try and use something from each school.

“One of the biggest things in Great Harwood is the Memorial Clock and we knew that had to be at the centre of it.”

The finished Coat of Arms features the words ‘Determination Pride Dedication’ along with antimony orange - a dye colour invented by John Mercer - Otters for the Trappes-Lomax family and wheat sheaves for the Hesketh family.

There is also a shuttle to symbolise the cotton industry, a red rose for Lancashire, blue sky, the Memorial Clock and the 1338 Charter.

All the children’s designs are now on display at Churchfield House until the end of June.