CHILDREN from 15 primary and nursery schools in the Stanley area have been finding out about the benefits of walking.

The children took part in a synchronised walk from their schools to South Stanley Community Centre, each of them carrying a jigsaw story piece.

When they arrived at the centre, they fitted their pieces together to create the story with Durham County Council's mascot, Sam.

The event was organised by the council's school travel planning team and SureStart Stanley to mark National Walk to School Week.

Jaime Battye, of SureStart Stanley, said: "The North-East has increasingly high obesity rates among adults and children. Eight per cent of boys and ten per cent of girls are obese.

"Guidelines say that walking 10,000 steps a day can help lower these high rates and walking to school could be the first step to achieving this target.''

Alison Butterfield, of Durham County Council's school travel planning team, said: "By bringing their own piece of the jigsaw to the event, the children could see that a small contribution can make a huge difference.

"This is the same for the journey to school. By walking to school, we can reduce pollution and congestion and enjoy the health benefits of regular exercise.''

Pupils at Ludworth Primary School, near Durham, created two 8ft by 4ft banners with the slogans Keep us Safe, Park Elsewhere and Forget the Car, It's Not Far, which have been displayed on the perimeter fence.