FOOTBALL stars from Hartlepool United are teaming up with the town's six secondary schools to promote good behaviour by children travelling on school buses.

There are hundreds of pupils in Hartlepool who have special passes enabling them to travel daily to and from school.

However, there have been incidents when bus drivers have been distracted because children have been misbehaving.

The Good Behaviour Campaign, co-ordinated by Hartlepool Borough Council, was launched on Thursday at English Martyrs School by footballers Jim Provett and Joel Porter.

Posters, badges, leaflets and banners have been produced and the issue will also form part of the school curriculum.

Stagecoach is backing the campaign, which will involve security cameras being installed on some of its buses.

Julie Cordiner, the council's senior education officer, said: "The large majority of children do behave well when travelling on school buses but, like all other towns and cities, we still have our share of the problems in Hartlepool.

"One of the messages we want to get over to children is that if a driver is distracted for just a few seconds it could result in a serious accident."