TWO North-East families are going without holidays and birthday treats to bring a breath of fresh air to children still living in the shadow of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Teacher Lindsay McNicolas, her sons Jamie and Daniel, from Brandon, and Linda Brown and her daughter Amy and son Tony, from Haswell, all County Durham, decided to save every penny they could to provide a holiday for frail youngsters from the contaminated region around the devastated power plant, which exploded 16 years ago.

A physical education teacher at Easington Community School, Mrs McNicholas learned from her sister in Scotland of the Chernobyl Children's Lifeline.

Through the group, her sister brought 12-year-old Veranika Patanenka to Britain from the Gomel region of Belarus.

Now Mrs McNicholas and her family are to play host not only to Veranika but also her nine-year-old brother, Sasha.

Easington Community School has already held a fundraising fun run to help pay for the visit, in July.

The plight of the very sick children also struck a deep chord with Mrs Brown, who also works at the school and whose daughter is a pupil.

It was when she and Amy heard how a month-long holiday in this country could help increase the childrens' life expectancy by at least ten years that they decided to do what they could for the youngsters.

"Just one visit to our country will dramatically reduce their radiation levels," said Amy, who has joined with her mother and brother to save up to bring more youngsters over to County Durham.

"These children live in an area around Chernobyl known as Death Valley," said Mrs McNicholas.

"They are forced to remain in this heavily polluted area because they are too poor to move."

The holidays in England represent a life saving opportunity for the deprived youngsters, she said.

Mrs McNicholas and Mrs Brown are also hoping to launch a local branch of the Chernobyl Children's Life Line.

Anyone interested in helping can telephone Mrs McNicholas on 0191-378 1370 or Mrs Brown on 0191-526 4036.