SCHOOL children created intricate arty hand prints to decorate a Snowpuppy.

Pupils from Lancing Prep School let their creative juices flow to transform their pet pooch named Marty.

Sue Roberts, the school's head of art, said it was a beautiful design, adding: "We decided to have a Snowdog Day where we could involve the whole school by inviting children to take part in a variety of dog themed creative activities leading towards the final design of our Snowdog."

The day began with an assembly to introduce the project, including information about the Martlets Hospice, Wild in Art and how the Snowdog idea was formed.

Children then watched The Snowman and the Snowdog film by Raymond Briggs.

Each child drew around their hand and worked in groups to share their ideas about Brighton and the charity.

This helped inspire the images which would sit inside their hand print. Each shape was used to coat the puppy in decoupage.

The children also made dog collars from recycled materials, miniature and large kennels, wrote dog poetry and designed puppy superheroes.

They even baked dog themed cakes to sell and raised £195 for The Martlets Hospice.

The school joins 20 others across Sussex which have adopted a Snowpuppy.

The finished creations will congregate in museums in Brighton and Hove and the Jubilee Library to be on display as part of the charity art trail from the end of September.

This will see 40 individually decorated giant Snowdogs descend on the city's streets to raise money for the Martlets Hospice.

Liz Davies, Martlets community fundraiser, said: "We have been delighted at the way schools across our area have embraced Snowdogs by the Sea and used it as an opportunity to both involve pupils in creative activities and as a gentle way in to explore issues around loss and hope, something the Snowman story does so well.

"It is thrilling every time a school gets back in touch to show us what they’ve created and seeing the enthusiasm for the project from everyone involved.”

The Argus is the official media partner for the Wild in Art and Martlets project.

For information visit snowdogsbythesea.co.uk.