Thomas Mitchell gets top prize in national ‘Miteycreation’ contest

Thomas Mitchell with his dust mite design

Six-year-old Thomas Mitchell has been crowned a winner of a nationwide competition asking children to create what they think a dust mite looks like, by the bedding brand Slumberdown.

Thomas, from Smithy Bridge, impressed the judges with his ‘Dust mite with a deadly tail’ design, winning the top prize to have his creation transformed into a real life cuddly toy.

The ‘MiteyCreation’ competition was launched in a bid to educate the nation on the main trigger of night time allergies and asthma, which is dust mite faeces.

Research conducted by Slumberdown revealed over 90% of allergy and asthma sufferers in the UK don’t actually know what triggers their symptoms, a problem which affects over a third of the population.

Slumberdown asked children to design their own weird and wonderful dust mite creations, in a bid to give mums the tools to spend some time having fun with their children over the summer holidays.

Thomas’ creative, colourful design, was shortlisted by the judges and was selected as a winner in a public vote.

Gill Mitchell, Thomas' mum, said: “Thomas is so excited to have won this national competition. He can’t wait to see his design created into a real toy.

“Thomas has suffered with eczema from a young age, which could be linked to night time allergies. So now we know what is causing the symptoms, hopefully they won’t come back.”

Sally Hotchin, brand manager at Slumberdown said: “So many families in the UK experience disrupted sleep as a result of night time allergies, purely because they don’t know how to prevent them.

“At Slumberdown we understand that time with the kids is precious and it needs to be spent having fun, not tending to allergy symptoms. That’s why we launched this competition, and we were overwhelmed with the fantastically imaginative entries we received.”