Teenagers have spent the week asking children to stop and think about the young victims of the Holocaust.

Since Monday, National Holocaust Day, two Teesside girls have been encouraging other youngsters to think about other victims of racism and hatred since 1945.

Last year Laura Hancock, 17, and Roseanne Clark, 18, from Stockton Sixth Form College, visited the former extermination camp at Auschwitz, where more than two million people were killed, including thousands of children.

"Our visit to Auschwitz was very moving and we learned far more being there than from simply reading books," said Laura.

"We wanted to share some of what we had learned with pupils from local schools to help them commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day."

Their visit was organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust and made a lasting impression on the teenagers, who have been speaking to young people at Grangefield School, Thornaby Community School and Ian Ramsey School.

They have been asking pupils at assemblies to imagine how they would feel if they were told they were less important than all the other people in the hall, were not allowed to gain any qualifications and could not have jobs.

Roseanne said: "Since the Second World War, laws have been passed to protect the rights of the child, yet children continue to be the victims of persecution and violence."