CHILDREN have been setting the bench mark in seat design by creating an eye-catching feature in their village.

For the past year, Billy Row Community Association has been working to improve the appearance of the village near Bishop Auckland, with help from Groundwork West Durham and Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) money.

Now, younger members of the community have been designing seats for the village green.

Artist Wendy Scott helped the children with the drawings, based on "birds and things that fly," at several workshops held at Peases West School, and the seats should be in place by next month.

It is hoped further SRB funding can be secured to replace the railings round the war memorial and plant new trees and bulbs.