Children at Deneholm Primary School in Grays could barely contain their excitement after a local business gifted more than £400 worth of toys following their annual Christmas competition.

Concrete Cutting, a John F Hunt Group company, set two competitions for the school earlier this month. Key Stage 1 children (aged 5 – 7) were asked to colour in an outline picture of a 'Robotic Demolition Machine,' and Key Stage 2 children (aged 7-11) were asked to create their own idea of what a 'Robotic Demolition Machine' should look like.

Both sets of children were also asked to come up with fun and memorable names for their creations, with the two winning names to be printed onto stickers and attached to a real machine in the New Year.

John F Hunt has been based in Grays for over 40 years and has expanded into an group of 18 construction-related companies and divisions, including their concrete cutting business which has most recently expanded into the North of the UK. Understanding that Christmas can be a difficult time for many, the team at Concrete Cutting wanted to lift spirits and spread some much-needed joy to a local school.

With 292 very creative submissions, which included some fantastic and hilarious names, such as; Graber 500, Caramel Fudge and Octo-claws, the team had a difficult job picking a winner. However, lucky students, Sophie, six, and Chima, 11, were announced as the winners in front of their classmates by two of the ladies from John F Hunt and Deneholm's Head Teacher. Sophie's winning name was 'George Power Bot', and Chima's name was 'The Scorpix'.

Sophie won Magnetic Sheet Building Tiles, a Lego Disney Princess Cinderella House, Construction Site On Christmas Night book, Lego Classic 10696 box, a Construction colouring book, Lego Dots, and a Creative construction 4in1 puzzle. Chima won a Lego Technic Heavy-Duty Excavator and Telehandler Forklift, a Lego City Mobile Crane Truck, Roadwork Truck and Construction Loader, Limmys Magnetic Building Blocks, a 'Working with Machines' book and a Lego Classic 10696 box. Both children also won a Lego Classic 10698 box for their classmates.

Michael Blizzard, Managing Director of Concrete Cutting, said: "Just before Christmas, our team gets together to think of a fun and creative competition for the local children to take part in. As a long-standing business and Thurrock resident, it is important for us to get involved in the community regularly, and this time of year makes it so much more special.

"We were delighted to be invited by Deneholm Primary to present the prizes to Sophie and Chima personally, and in the New Year, we will organise for them to come to our John F Hunt head office, where they can place their name sticker on the machinery themselves and even have a go at operating one of our robotic demolition machines…under our supervision of course!"

Headteacher, Mrs Goyette, said: "We were really excited to hear of the competition when John F Hunt reached out to us, we love getting the children involved in projects beyond this classroom, and this has the additional benefit of having a really exciting prize!

"It was lovely to see the winner's faces light up when they heard their names called. I know Chima, our year six pupil is a construction enthusiast and hopes to own his own construction company when he grows up, so I know it meant a lot to him that he won. The other children in the class were really excited for their fellow classmates and were so happy to see what they had won."

The team at Concrete Cutting would love to host more school competitions and get involved in giving back to the local community. If you know of an organisation or school that would like to join in next year, John F Hunt would love to hear from you. Follow their social page on LinkedIn for more information, send an email or contact them through the 'get in touch' page on the website www.johnfhunt.co.uk/concrete-cutting/