A SCIENCE lab on wheels is touring the North-East in a bid to inspire and excite a new generation of physicists and engineers.

Students from Greenfield School, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, took part in experiments in The Lab in a Lorry on Friday.

Then on Saturday, young and old residents of the town stepped inside to explore the wonders of science.

Today and tomorrow, the vehicle - one of only three in the country - will be at Easington Community School, then on Thursday it will be at Gilesgate Sports College, Durham, and on Friday at Staindrop Comprehensive School, in County Durham, offering free access to its facilities.

The scheme is run by volunteers who are all practising scientists and engineers, and was established by the Institute of Physics and the Schlumberger Foundation.

A scheme spokesman said: "For some of us, there has been an influential person - an aunt who brought out her telescope to view a passing comet, or an uncle who took apart a clock and showed us how it works. That's what we are hoping Lab in a Lorry will be - that aunt, uncle, or family friend who turns on the light bulb.