WORKMEN are renovating more than 280 properties on Wearside and are warning children of the dangers with their own squad of "Guardian Angels".

Flats, bungalows and houses in Upper Silksworth, near Sunderland, are being given a facelift as part of a £2m project.

The work is taking place while residents are still living in their homes, so to ensure there are no accidents each workman has been allocated his own Guardian Angel signposts, warning children to keep out.

Child-sized signs are put up where workmen are situated and are designed to appeal to children.

Project manager Franz Hutcheson said: "With the residents remaining in the properties while we work around them, there is naturally some disruption. But we do everything in our power to minimise disturbance.

"Having the Guardian Angels on our side certainly helps. They are especially effective with the children. They have more time on their hands during the school holidays and it is easy for them to forget while they are running around playing that workmen are busy in the house."

Work on the 50-year-old properties, which is being carried out by Lovells East, which specialises in regeneration projects, involves fitting new kitchens, bathrooms and doors, rewiring and redecorating.