PUPILS at an east Durham junior school dined out in style all day yesterday.

The special healthy eating day was held at Shotton Hall Junior School in Peterlee as part of the Easington Primary Care Trust's campaign to persuade children to eat a healthy diet, including lots of fruit and vegetables.

From the start of the school day, there was an array of exotic fruits and vegetables available for the young gourmet diners to enjoy.

The school's catering company also joined in the activities, and provided healthy dishes for the youngsters.

For those who were not too keen on raw fruits or vegetables, a selection of smoothies were prepared to try out.

And as well as the non-stop tasting sessions, there were also specially-devised games all relating to healthy eating.

The trust has been running an ongoing project in the area to cut down on childhood obesity and several schools have organised their own special days.

The core of the project is to persuade children to eat five pieces of fruit or vegetables a day.

The venture proved a great success with Shotton Hall pupils, who were encouraged to enjoy everything from passion fruit to carrots during the event.