SCHOOL children are remembering the victims of war and persecution ahead of an exhibition devoted to Anne Frank.

Pupils at 76 schools in County Durham are planting cherry trees in memory of the Jewish schoolgirl and the millions of others killed in conflicts throughout the 20th Century.

Anne Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War, but her dairy - chronicling the years her family spent in hiding - has been read by millions of people around the world.

Yesterday, youngsters from St Godric's RC Primary School, Newton Hall, Durham, helped Durham County Council chairman John Richardson plant trees in the grounds of County Hall.

At Dipton, near Stanley, volunteers helped by pupils from the village's Colliery Primary and St Patrick's RC Primary schools planted a small memorial woodland.

The planting coincided with Durham County Council signing the Anne Frank Declaration, a public statement supporting the principles of tolerance and understanding.

The council has also approved a draft racial quality policy drawn up following the Macpherson Report into the racist murder of black London student Stephen Lawrence and the bungled police investigation.

The exhibition, Anne Frank - A History for Today, will be held in Durham Cathedral from Saturday until Sunday, November 26. It will be open daily from 9am to 5.30pm and admission is free