FIVE years of fundraising by parents has raised about £16,000 for a school minibus.

The Chorister School, Dur-ham, has one minibus, but to transport pupils to sports fixtures or other events, teachers often had to hire a second bus or rely on parents.

Now, the Friends of Choristers have raised enough money for a second vehicle and to refit the original bus.

Headteacher Ian Hawksby said: "We have got one minibus already, but as we now have a strong girls' sports department as well as a boys' one, so often there's a fixture on an afternoon and they both need a minibus, so we had to hire one or rely on parents.

"So this is definitely a very, very wonderful thing."