YOUNGSTERS in Hartlepool came face-to-face with some of Britain's rarest creatures yesterday.

About 25 young members of Hartlepool Borough Council's Beck Buddies and Dragonflies nature clubs enjoyed a talk from small mammal expert Ian Bond, who maintains the Castle Eden Walkway.

The youngsters and more than a dozen of their parents had the chance to see rare newts, harvest mice and different types of bats.

After the talk the young nature lovers made bat boxes which will be erected in the part of the walkway that lies within the Hartlepool borough area.

Robert Smith, of Hartlepool's countryside warden team, helped organise the event at Summerhill Visitor Centre at Summerhill Park, off Catcote Road.

He said: "The publicity said it would be 'spellbinding' for the young people and I can say with absolute certainty that it was just that. They really were enthralled by it all.

"The youngsters and adults alike were particularly interested in the harvest mice.

"It was good because harvest mice used to be really common until farming practices changed.

"Now Ian breeds them for release into the wild."

Mr Smith said the Beck Buddies are a group of friends from the Greatham Beck area who are interested in the area around them. The Dragonflies nature club attracts youngsters from across Hartlepool.

"It's absolutely amazing to see how interested they become in nature after they spend some time in the clubs," said Mr Smith.

"They really do end up with this great respect for wildlife. It's lovely to see."

Most of the Castle Eden Walkway is in the Stockton area.