Grandmother Cynthia Bullingham could hardly believe her ears when she was told she had scooped top prize in a council brown bin ordering competition.And she could hardly believe her eyes when the prize arrived - one and a half kilos of delicious Belgian chocolate in the shape of a model garden waste recycling bin.

Grandmother Cynthia Bullingham could hardly believe her ears when she was told she had scooped top prize in a council brown bin ordering competition.

And she could hardly believe her eyes when the prize arrived - one and a half kilos of delicious Belgian chocolate in the shape of a model garden waste recycling bin.

The scrummy bin stands almost two feet tall and has a South Norfolk Council logo and the names of Cynthia's grandchildren Sam, Josh and Grace on the front.

Cynthia from Carlton Close, Wymondham said: "It was much bigger than I thought, and with the weather getting warmer, we're just debating where to put it to make sure it doesn't melt. It certainly won't fit in the fridge!

"I tapped it to make sure it wasn't solid, but it's quite heavy and getting it to our grandchildren is going to be interesting. We're going to surprise them with it by taking it over to show them soon."

The bin is the creation of professional sculptress Melanie Pittman, a former student of Southampton Institute who graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art.

Melanie, who runs Just Truffles Chocolate Ltd from The Barn at Alburgh, took three days to make it.

Councillor David Bills, Cabinet Member for Environment, Health, Recycling and Safety, says the fun prize underpins a much more powerful message.

"Garden waste recycling in South Norfolk has taken off in the last six months, and now a fifth of our district's committed community of recyclers has a garden waste bin.

"But we are not complacent and we want that to grow even more because tonnes of garden waste are now being composted instead of clogging up landfill sites and costing taxpayers even more money."

The chocolate bin cost the council �25 and is by far the most unusual prize it has ever given to try and promote its services.