CHILDREN at a North-East nursery had a preview of the world's first DIY stamps this week.

The three and four-year-olds at Borough Road Nursery, Darlington, tested out Royal Mail's new Fun Fruit and Veg stamps, which come with sticky comic body parts to create characters on the stamps.

The youngsters were invited by Royal Mail to take part in the launch, and were among the first in the country to put their creative skills to the test on the innovative stamps.

With the help of Darlington postman Martin Snelling, whose daughter Hannah, three, attends the nursery, the children built up their own designs using fruit and vegetables such as oranges and lettuces, and a selection of mouths, eyes, noses, hats, ties, shoes and glasses.

Headteacher Lynn Millar said: "Martin recently visited the school to tell us about his job as a postman, and we have learned about the journey of a letter.

"So it was fun to see the new stamps, and the children enjoyed making their own faces."