PRIMARY school pupils are battling to save a river bank they use as an outdoor classroom.

Young environmentalists at St Anne's Primary School, Bishop Auckland, have been monitoring the environment of the river bank at Escomb Farm, Escomb, for eight years and are worried about changes they have seen.

After noticing several trees had fallen into the river and sand martins had lost their nests because of erosion, the concerned youngsters took matters into their own hands.

They wrote letters to the Environment Agency and MP Derek Foster, saying they thought gravel deposits collecting in the river were causing it to change its course.

Headteacher Henry Jopling said: "They have been tracking the changes in the river. They are very concerned about ecology and are particularly concerned about the habitat of the sand martins and the way the river bank is changing. It helps children become aware of the effect man can have on the environment."

Christine Moody, who owns the farm with her husband, is helping to educate children about conservation after part of her meadow was washed away.

She said: "Several trees along the river bank will fall into the river this winter I would think. It's a shame, they're healthy trees. This is an historic footpath that runs next to the river and it's just up from an ancient woodland; how can I repair that?"

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: "We try to leave the rivers in as natural a state as possible and try to minimise our impact on water courses. The depth of gravel and erosion of river banks is a natural process and new habitats are created in this process. In instances like this, where there's no flood risk, activity is very low priority."