A PARTNERSHIP between an artist, a Richmond pub and a North Yorkshire brewery will help more children from the stricken region of Belarus enjoy a break in North Yorkshire.

The Richmond branch of the Chernobyl Children's Lifeline raises money each year to bring a dozen youngsters to North Yorkshire, away from an area still blighted by the nuclear disaster of 1986.

This year, the group is £500 better off thanks to an initiative launched last autumn.

Golden Sheep ale was brewed by Masham's Black Sheep brewery to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Some of the proceeds of bottles sold in The Unicorn, in Richmond, were donated to the town's annual Meet, which raises money for local charities.

Richmond artist Mackenzie Thorpe also painted a golden version of one of his square sheep and donated proceeds from the sale of limited edition prints to the same cause - as long as a share of the money went to the children of Chernobyl.

The cheque was handed over while the latest visitors were in the UK for a summer holiday.