Ikea brings children's drawings to life for charity

Ikea has launched a collection of soft toy animals that have been designed by children from around the world.

The Swedish furniture giant ran an international drawing competition and selected 10 pictures from thousands of entries.

It created faithful copies of the works of artworks, which were drawn by children aged between four and 10.

The winners featured tigers, bats, alligators and unicorns, drawn in crayon and coloured pens and pencils.

One winning entry was a black and white skunk drawn by eight-year-old Olivia Wildman, from Essex.

Other winners came from Cyprus, Norway, Malaysia, Romania and Taiwan.

Part of the store's Soft Toys for Education campaign, Ikea donates €1 to children’s education projects run by Unicef and Save the Children.

Carol McSeveney, Ikea Children’s sales leader in the UK and Ireland, told The Independent: “The final creations show that anything is possible with children’s imaginations.

"We fell in love with Olivia’s drawing when we first saw it, and we have stayed true to her illustration, right down to the little legs and quizzical expression that give it a character all of its own."

The toys are priced between £4 and £8 from stores and the website.