FIVE east Cleveland children have proved they are successful film makers.

Laura Collings from Nunthorpe School, Elisha Lofthouse from Rye Hills, Adam Robinson from Galley Hill Primary, Olivia Smith from Ravensworth Primary and Megan Wealleans from Lakes Primary, Redcar, worked together at a summer school to produce animated film The Butterfly's Big Adventure.

The film, which took only nine days to make from conception to DVD, tracks the life cycle of a butterfly and its subsequent adventures.

It won Best Story, Best Animated Sequence, Best Soundtrack and Best Movie at the end of a nine-day course, held on Teesside.

The children were among 28 ten to 13-year-olds, nominated by their schools for their written, artistic, musical and IT skills, who attended the intensive course, organised by Redcar and Cleveland Gifted and Talented Strand and the Eston City Learning Centre.

Split into six groups and guided by children's author Pat Borthwick, animator Chris Kent and musicians, they produced films ranging from three to seven minutes long.

Councillor Valerie Halton, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's lead member for children, said: "We are delighted at the success of this latest summer school and the creative talents of everyone who took part. It only goes to re-emphasise what an excellent resource these facilities can provide."

Stuart Nimmo, the council's summer school manager, said: "I'm overwhelmed by the high-quality animations that the children have put together, especially in such a short time.

"Having created their highly original stories they used a series of techniques to produce the films. These included constructing models, stop motion animation, still photography and computer-based animation."