GAZETTE & HERALD: Poetic twins Alexandra and Oliver Feltham, six, from Kington Langley, scooped top awards in the Wiltshire Libraries poetry competition with their verses about summer.

Alexandra won first place in the four to six age group with her poem Pebble, and her brother took second place with his poem entitled In The Garden.

They read out their poems before receiving their prizes from Wiltshire County Council leader Jane Scott at a ceremony in Chippenham Library on Wednesday.

A passion for writing must run in the Feltham family as mother Trudy used to work as a teacher at Neston Primary School, where she was always keen for the youngsters to learn about poetry.

She said: "We do read a lot of poetry at home, but we were hugely surprised when the twins won prizes."

Coun Scott said she was keen to develop cultural life in the county.

"I am particularly pleased we have eight winners from the Chippenham area, as it is my home town. It must be a very cultured town," she said.

The contest attracted around 250 entries, and was organised by librarian Sue Boddington.

The Felthams were not the only siblings to win prizes.

Rachel Moore, from Chippenham, won the ten to 12 age group with her poem Kitten Dreams, and her older sister Anne Moore won the 13 to 15 class with Petrushka.

Poppy Hoare, from Chippenham, came third in the seven to nine age group with her poem, The Mermaid, and her sister Fuchsia came third in the ten to 12 class with Church Tower.

The humorous category award went to John Rawson, from Warminster, with Giraffe.

The winner of the adult class was Gabriel Griffin, Chippenham, who wrote Emily Dickinson's Indian Pipe.

Ms Boddington said: "We were extremely impressed with the high standard of entries, and in addition to the people who won the particular categories, we commended a further 46 poems.

"The winner of the adult competition wrote an intense, thought-provoking poem comparing the reclusive life of the American poet Emily Dickinson, with the rare plant Indian Pipe, which was Emily's favourite flower."

Linda Snell, from Chippenham, who came second with Cranefly, had a very successful week with her poems the following evening she took first prize in the Ottakars poetry contest with a poem about the welcome extended to asylum seekers.

The winning entries, and those that were commended by the judges, will be displayed in Wiltshire libraries this month.