CHILDREN talked to their soccer hero about racism as part of the sport's Kick Racism Out of Football week yesterday.

Middlesbrough Football Club defender Chris Riggott took part in a question and answer session with ten-year-olds from St Mark's School, in Fairfield, Stockton.

The pupils are taking part in a two-day Education Through Football course at the club's Riverside Stadium.

Usually the course focuses on reading and writing, but yesterday, they met Mr Riggott.

Club community liaison officer Diane O'Connell said: "They really seemed to take something from it. The children made posters with sayings like 'don't let colour spoil your fun' and 'we're all the same colour underneath'.

"Chris told them racism did not seem as bad for footballers here as it did in other parts of the world, but he asked them to take the anti-racism message with them in the future."

Pupils from 12 schools in the Grangetown, South Bank and Normanby areas of Teesside have also taken up the anti-racism challenge as part of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's Excellence in Cities scheme. The course focuses on good citizenship, which includes anti-racism.

Primary schools taking part in the course, which involves visits from qualified teachers representing Middlesbrough Football Club, include Caedmon, Bankfields, Beech Grove, Grangetown, Normanby, Ravensworth, St Mary's, St Peter's, Wilton, St Andrew's and Whale Hill.

Education co-ordinator Rob Lake said: "Football can be very much part of the solution to racism rather than being part of the problem."