NURSERY school pupils are learning how to keep hold of the purse strings while they are young with weekly shopping trips.

Staff at Pixley Dell Day Nursery, in Spennymoor, are teaching children the value of money and how to count by taking the youngsters shopping for groceries.

Every Tuesday, the three to five-year-olds step into their parents' shoes to plan a cookery session and prepare a shopping list to a budget.

Nursery staff then take the children to Asda supermarket to collect ingredients and pay at the self-service till.

Principal Leah Hornsby said: "The children come to me and collect money to spend on ingredients before walking to the shop in groups of about seven.

"It's a great way to give the children a sense of responsibility and teach them the value of money.

"After returning with their ingredients, the children then spend the rest of the afternoon making buns and cakes or whatever else they have decided to make on that day."