YOUNGSTERS and teachers held a pyjama party to raise cash for a children's charity yesterday.

Staff and pupils at Tanfield Lea Junior School, near Stanley, paid a voluntary contribution to dress in their night clothes. The event raised £317 for the National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children.

Head teacher Kay Hemmings said: "The children choose three charities to support at the beginning of the year, then decide what event they would like to do.

"It gives them a sense of ownership and responsibility."

The pupils will raise money for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals next term and will take part in a skipping challenge for the British Heart Foundation in the summer.