RECORD numbers of schoolchildren took on a country park and hilly city streets in the finals of an Olympics-inspired sports initiative.

More than 1,200 youngsters made it to the finals of the 2018 Warrens Sedgefield Dash! and Durham Dash! this week.

The events were held in Hardwick Park, near Sedgefield, on Tuesday and on Palace Green, in Durham City, on Wednesday and attracted a record number of young people aged between seven and 11 from 60 schools across County Durham.

Mark Blackbourne, event director, said: “Both the Sedgefield and Durham events are now well-established, at stunning venues that helped to inspire the children to perform brilliantly in the various activities.

“The key objectives of this initiative are to encourage young people to lead active and healthy lives and develop a love of participation in sport. Based on what we saw in Sedgefield and Durham this week, I think that this year’s events have done a lot to achieve that.”

The initiative, sponsored by the Warrens Group, is delivered by Durham and Chester-le-Street and Sedgefield School Sports Partnerships.

Launched in 2012 and inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the scheme this year saw around 4,000 children take part in a series of running, jumping and throwing events over six weeks - with 1,240 qualifying for the finals nights.

William Hampson, 11, who represented Sedgefield Primary School in the finals, said: “I really enjoyed the Dash! as I got to race with kids from schools we don’t usually compete against.”

For more information about the Dash! initiative, visit dothedash.co.uk