There will be no blocked drains at the eastern end of Sheppey if primary school children have their way.

Youngsters at both Eastchurch’s St Clement’s and All Saints’ sites have been learning about the problems waste cooking fat, oil and grease (FOG) can cause if they are poured down kitchen sinks.

They are now working with Southern Water and charity Work This Way, which runs the Oil Works project as part of Sustainable Sheppey at HMP Standford Hill, where they recycle FOG and turn it into bio-fuel.

All the children have been given plastic bottles to fill with waste FOG from their homes.

These will then be brought in to fill containers at each school, in Warden Road, Eastchurch, and Leysdown Road, Leysdown.

A competition was launched on Friday with prizes for the site with the best decorated container – £300 for the school, donated by Southern Water –and the school which collects the most FOG – a handmade bench donated by the Sheppey prison cluster.

The child who collects the most will receive a £30 voucher donated by Work This Way.

The contest will run until the first container has been filled.

Oil Works project manager Zak Owen said: “They listened very carefully and were very eager to go home and tell their parents about it.”