SCHOOLCHILDREN in eight County Durham villages are working on an arts project after winning a National Lottery grant.

The villages of Trimdon Grange, Trimdon Colliery, Trimdon Village, Bradbury, Mordon, Sedgefield, Fishburn and Bishop Middleham have won £2,261 from the lottery Awards For All scheme.

The cash is being used to celebrate the Millennium in a community arts project called Over The Hedge, which has a theme of past, present and future, and will catalogue local social history and envisage the future through the eyes of the children.

Arts and crafts worker Joan Van Hove is visiting schools in the villages, and holding workshops in felt making.

The children will be making a series of panels, which will be joined to form a large mural, to go on display at the beginning of next year.

The frames of the panels are being made by people from Deerbolt Young Offenders' Institute, near Barnard Castle.

Community Link Worker John Davies said: "The main aims of the project are to encourage networking between the villages to raise community spirit, give people old and young a chance to work together and share new art experiences.