CHILDREN in the first town in Britain to sign up for an Olympic fitness campaign have been warming up for a record-breaking run.

Youngsters from primary schools in Darlington have been preparing for the Tesco Great School Run at Branksome Comprehensive School.

Darlington was the first town in Britain to back the Great Activity Campaign, led by Olympic legend Brendan Foster.

The campaign aims to get nearly two million more people involved in regular exercise by 2012.

The campaign, known as Take to the Streets, aims to look at ways of tackling inactivity and inspiring people to take a fresh look at getting fit.

Yesterday, children from Alderman Leach, Holy Family, Cockerton and Mount Pleasant Primary Schools took part in an activities and games ahead of the Great School Run, which is linked to the Great Activity Campaign.

The run, which takes place on June 20, hopes to get 700,000 seven to 11-year-olds completing 2km runs. Organisers hope to break the world record for the largest simultaneous walk or run.

Nicola Barrett, a team leader from the Great School Run, said: "We've been giving children a taste of what's coming up on the day.

"It's about stressing the importance of health and physical activity, and helping children prepare for the run."

Beverley Dunn, a teaching assistant at Alderman Leach Primary School, said: "We're really looking forward to it. The children are all getting behind it and have worked very hard - it's a real treat."

Schools can sign up for the Tesco Great School Run by visiting greatschoolrun.org, where training programmes can be downloaded.

They will also get the chance to win 100,000 Tesco Sports for Schools and Clubs vouchers, which can be exchanged for sports equipment.