George is revealed as the winning design in our GoGoDragons! competition

Competition winner John Checketts, left, meets artist Martin Wall and the GoGoDragons at a secret location. Photo: Bill Smith (Image: Archant � 2014)

Drawing on the legend of St George and the Dragon, 75-year-old John Checketts' clever design sees the two characters become one, with the armour of St George worn by the fire-breathing beast. Mr Checketts' idea beat more than 250 other great entries to be picked as the design for the EDP and Norwich Evening News-sponsored sculpture which will be part of the GoGoDragons! charity art trail through Norwich next year. There will be 80 dragons in the trail - which is being organised by children's charity Break and Wild in Art - and George will watch over the city from our head office, Prospect House.

'I was very surprised - to win was quite a delight,' said Mr Checketts, a retired art teacher from Wells who said he developed his idea by playing around with the lines on the dragon template.

'Out of that came the idea I could link the lines up to be a bit like armour, and I thought of St George and the Dragon. I still wanted it to be a dragon so I kept bits of the green dragon popping through in the design.'

Mr Checketts' design will be recreated on the dragon sculpture by North Walsham-based artist Martin Wall who decorated Iron Ape, Batgrill and Bradley Wiggins for the 2013 GoGoGorillas! trail through Norwich. By coincidence, Mr Wall had also created a St George-themed dragon design and so elements of Mr Checketts and Mr Wall's designs will be combined for our dragon.

GoGoDragons design competition winner. Pictured: George the Dragon by John Checketts, age 75. (Image: Supplied)

'Great minds think alike,' said 55-year-old Mr Wall, about the uncanny similarities between the designs.

'I think the amalgamation of St George and the Dragon will work well, because you imagine a dragon as having armoured skin so to give that a metallic feeling I think will look good.'

For more on GoGoDragons! visit www.break-charity.org

GoGoDragons! design by artist Martin Wall. (Image: submitted)