SCHOOLS across County Durham are joining a scheme to get pupils to walk rather than travel by car.

A further 24 schools are joining the 33 who have produced school travel plans with the help of Durham County Council.

The idea is to encourage youngsters to walk to school and to make school routes safer.

Plans to achieve this include creating priority junctions, speed tables and park and walk sites.

The council's cabinet member for sustainability, Bob Pendlebury, said: "It is good that so many schools are already involved, and we want to encourage more to take part. By making the route to school safer, we are encouraging children and their parents to leave the car at home and walk to school. This not only reduces the number of cars on the road, but also school gate congestion."

The schools developing travel plans include: Wolsingham School and Technology College; Evenwood CE Primary; St John's RC Comprehensive, Bishop Auckland; St William's RC Primary and Trimdon Junior schools; Wolsingham Primary; Lead-gate Community Infants; Tudhoe Colliery Primary; St Andrew's Primary, Bishop Auckland and Sugar Hill Primary, Newton Aycliffe.