GREEN activity sessions to keep village children occupied through the summer holidays got under way yesterday.

Nature Rangers, organised by the West Rainton Green Group, is aimed at five to 11-year-olds in West Rainton and Leamside, and previous sessions have attracted up to 40 youngsters.

"This is the third summer we have run events for the children in our village," said Nature Rangers co-ordinator Annette Morris.

"And the things we are doing this year are completely new. Last year, for instance, we made ladybird houses, visited the seaside, learnt about hedgehogs and built a hedgehog house."

"This summer, children can find out about butterflies, meet some bats and make bat boxes for the village and learn about water birds, to mention just a few topics we will cover."

Events are held on Tuesdays, from 2pm to 4pm in the Jubilee Hall, North Street, West Rainton.

There will be a visit to Littlewood Nature Reserve next Tuesday and a trip to the Rainton Meadows nature reserve on Tuesday, August 23.

The sessions are free but children under the age of eight must be accompanied by an adult.

Lesley King , chairwoman, of West Rainton Green Group, said: "We were thrilled when we received a grant from Awards for All to kick start Nature Rangers two years ago."

The Green Group is putting £500 it won in a competition for volunteers run by County Durham Strategic Partnership towards the cost of the sessions.