A SPELL-BINDING book has been created by five children, who can now boast they have had their first novel published before even leaving primary school.

The pupils, at Cestria Primary School, in Chester-le-Street, who have shown a gift for imaginative writing and art, were set the task of writing a book for infant children.

The resulting fiction, The Magical Crown, tells the tale of a knight and a fairy castle and has captured the imagination of children and teachers.

It was written by Laura Nelson, 11, Brittany MacDonald, 11, Robert Bickerton, eight and Emma Healey, ten and contains outstanding illustrations by 11-year-old Christopher Clarke.

It was produced in nine months and was published this month by Business Education Publishers free of charge.

The books have only been produced for the school, but learning support teacher Judi Birch said she was hoping to get more printed.

She said: "The faces of the children when they saw the finished version of their book was absolutely magic."