YOUNGSTERS have been given a lesson in safety around construction sites as work on the second stage of a major road project gets under way.

Stockton Borough Council, Birse Civils and Arup consultants are working in to create the £17m South Stockton Link Road to link Stockton town centre to the A66 and Ingleby Barwick.

Birse wanted to involve the local community and ensure schoolchildren understood the potential dangers of a construction site.

Contractors worked with teachers and pupils at St Cuthbert's Primary, Oxbridge Lane Primary and Bowesfield Primary schools and arranged a site visit for the youngsters to see what types of accidents could happen without the correct safety equipment.

Mike Robinson, the council's head of engineering and transportation, said: "We were very keen to select a contractor that would take ownership of the potential problems to the local community that inevitably arises from such a large scale construction project."

Morita Metcalfe, headteacher at St Cuthbert's Primary School, said: "The children found the site visit fascinating and it proved an effective way of alerting them to the potential dangers.

"Practical approaches often work best and St Cuthbert's was pleased to get involved."