CHILDREN at a Darlington school have received a road safety lesson in the form of a drama workshop.

The StopWatch Theatre Company visited Hurworth School Maths and Computing College yesterday to give a performance of their play, Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Year seven pupils were treated to a fast, entertaining and moving story of two young people who dare each other to run across a busy main road.

A spokesman for the company said: "The twist in the story demonstrates that even the most sensible and clear-minded of us can easily make one bad decision which leads to terrible consequences."

The workshop which followed was designed to take the audience's response to the play a stage further.

The children were led through a series of drama exercises which attempted to emphasise why giving in to peer pressure is not a good idea where road safety issues is concerned.