A 12-year-old boy from Broughton Moor has won a national poetry competition.

Troy Atherton entered the contest, which was held by Bradford based poet Sheena Hussain, and was delighted to win his age group category.

The poet wanted young people to submit poetry on Covid-19 and their lockdown experiences during the pandemic.

Troy said: "I was once a runner up In CITV’s Share a Story contest with a comedy poem I did called ‘Skeletons in Wellingtons’ when I was nine-years-old, which was great, but winning something is even better as it makes me feel like I am doing well with the poems I write."

Sheena said of the quality of entries: "On behalf of the judge and the funders, it was a privilege to have read all the entries that were sent through to us, as far as West Cumbria and the depth of content was phenomenal."

Troy said he likes writing poems because he likes how the words flow into each other. He added: "Stories are good but poems are even better as they have a rhythm which is something I like. I love listening to rap music and that always flows and rhymes, I think that is why I like poetry."

Troy was rewarded for his winning poem with a £50 voucher and a certificate.

He said he would have liked to have spent the money on Arctic Monkeys tickets as he loves their music and the lyrics of Alex Turner, but as there are no concerts on at the moment due to Coronavirus, he will spend his money on visiting the Farne Islands with his dad.

Troy said he likes to write about many different subjects and was recently inspired to do a short poem on the French graffiti artist ‘Invader’, which he has put on to his Youtube channel. He said it is shorter than his other poems and feels like a rap as it is all about graffiti in a big city.

As a keen football player he has also written about the sport, which he has recently sent off to the FA.

He said: "It's all about the pressure football kids face when parents scream and shout at them from the touchlines."

SCHOOL’S OUT

The teachers tell us school is out

We pupils, we all cheer and shout

And on our way home we laugh and we joke

About our new superhero in his cloak

Coronavirus is the school closer’s name

And we all give him adulation and fame

But before too long he is sweeping the nation

Putting us all into isolation

Grandparents in care homes on their own

Struggling to realise why families have not shown

Mums and dads no longer working

We school children are no longer smirking

Off to the shops in single file

Walking down an empty aisle

Greedy people panic buying

Not a thought for those who are dying

The death toll rises day by day

Coronavirus is here to stay

Doctors and nurses doing their best

To put our once super hero to rest

Scientists searching for a krypton like penicillin

To put and end to our new super villain

People keep the faith and stay at home

Life is like living under a plastic dome

School yards empty, classrooms dark

Not even football in the park

Thursday night the clapping rings out

Love for the NHS is all about

The clapping reminds me of the last day of school

Back when we thought Coronavirus was cool

I wish that we could rewind time

Because applauding him really was a crime

He tricked us with school is out

He fooled us to cheer and shout

We should have seen it from the start

There was nothing good in his heart

He is no longer a super hero in our eyes

He was always just a super villain in disguise