ARTISTS and sports mad teenagers came together at a 24-hour charity event at a Teesside school.

Pupils at Northfield Secondary School, Billingham, began playing sports at 9am, on Friday, to raise £4,000 for Cancer Research UK, continuing until Saturday morning.

Their efforts have been drawn and photographed by professionals as part of the event, called Drawn to Sport.

It came about when the school's head of art, Steve Birch, and PE teacher Martin Dwyer decided to come up with a joint charity project.

Mr Dwyer has helped organise the 24-hour sponsored sports day for a number of years, helping to raise £30,000 for charity, and this year Mr Birch wanted to become involved in the national Big Draw arts initiative.

"This has been the result," said Chris Feeman, manager of the school's sports drome.

"We've had cartoonist Willliam Rudling selling cartoons and photographer Katie Lee taking pictures.

"We've even had Gary Pallister, the former Middlesbrough footballer, putting his head round the door."