ART students from Leigh have won a design competition to showcase their work at a housing development, taking inspiration from the town’s mining history.

The public artwork will be unveiled at the Taylor Wimpey Manchester’s, Pennington Wharf development, in Leigh.

The winning designs came from Chloe Evans, 14, and India Collins, 13, from Westleigh High School, and Jack Leyland, 19, from Wigan and Leigh College.

The art will commemorate the miners who lost their lives in the Bickershaw pit disaster of 1932, as well as Alfred Wilkinson VC who fought in World War I and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross for his bravery.

Alfred also died in an accident at Bickershaw Colliery, in 1940.

Chloe Dunn, sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey Manchester, said: “The entries we received were fantastic and it was incredibly difficult to choose a winner.

“As such we decided on three winners, which will be amalgamated and developed into two pieces of art.

“We’re excited to be working with students on such an exciting project, and cannot wait to see the pieces come to life and be enjoyed by residents and visitors to Pennington Wharf for years to come.”

The artwork will be commissioned in the coming months and produced by a professional artist in time for an unveiling ceremony, in 2018.

The first piece will be a wooden life size statue of Alfred Wilkinson located on the public open space at Pennington Wharf, and the second will be a sculpture showcasing Leigh’s coal mining history, and will be displayed close to the developments marina café.

The Pennington Wharf development will feature 471 homes, a 45 berth marina, a community centre, a café, and a convenience store.

The winners were decided by representatives from Taylor Wimpey Manchester, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), and Wigan Council.