POPULAR North-East children's author Terry Deary hopes to leave kids speechless with his latest project.

The Horrible Histories writer has persuaded children that history can be fun - now he wants them to keep to keep a sock in it to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Terry recently visited Catchgate Primary School, near Stanley, County Durham, to check on preparations for a Hold Your Tongue Challenge.

He said: "I still thought they were a bit noisy. Perhaps we need to transport them back to Viking or Roman times. Some of the things I could show them there would definitely leave them speechless.

"But if they keep on practising, they're going to do really well and raise lots of money for Macmillan."

On February 9, hundreds of children of all ages will take part in Macmillan's "zip it" campaign - a ten-minute sponsored silence.

Last year, thousands of schoolchildren across the UK raised £180,000 during the nationwide silence and this year's target is £250,000.