SANTA’S elves have been keeping a closer eye than usual on children at schools and nurseries in east Durham in the run up to Christmas.

Aided by PCSOs Kerri Bassom and Carole Hutton they have crept into six primary schools and six nurseries in Seaham to make sure the youngsters are being good.

The duo introduced the toys to help them deliver an anti-bullying message to reception and key stage one pupils at the schools.

They have adopted a ‘softer’ approach at the nurseries, visiting with a hand-knitted elf to tell the tots the Christmas story and talk about the police.

PCSO Bassom said: “We have rolled out the Elf on a Shelf concept, already popular with some parents, to encourage children to behave well and treat other people with kindness, so that they really deserve their Christmas gifts.

“It involves a magic elf turning up in December to ensure children are behaving themselves. Before the elf disappears to report back to Santa, staff ensure it gets up to mischief so that the youngsters believe in its powers.”

This week the officers have been revisiting the children to present each of them with selection boxes and other sweets donated by local councillors Sonia Forster and Kevin Shaw in conjunction with local Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s stores.

There is also a competition in which the children are asked to write down what they think gives the elf its magic. Santa will pick the prize winner.

The elves were donated by Merry Elfmas (merryelfmas.com) and tiny police jackets were made by the Teddywears company at a reduced cost. Seaham Boot Camp also donated money to the venture.