A STAGE company will make a drama over the need for more childcare helpers today.

The Panto Company has been enlisted to give people a feel for what a job in childminding, play work or nursery provision involves.

The group will give an hour-long performance, Making Choices, showing what potential child carers can expect in a 12-hour course.

It is being staged as part of a recruitment event run by Durham County Council's SureStart scheme, at the Louisa Centre, Stanley.

Caroline Moralee, of SureStart County Durham, said: "We are always looking for fun and innovative ways of informing people about careers in childcare.

"The Panto Company dramatises this in such a way that you actually think you are in a childcare setting.

"It can really help you understand what these roles involve and, by the end of the performance, you can decide whether childcare is right for you and, if so, which branch is most suitable."

Everyone attending the event can enrol onto a childcare course, with advice on offer from the Childcare Information Service and details of vacancies from Jobcentre-plus representatives.

Performances by the Panto Company will be at 10.30am, 1.30pm and 6.30pm.

Anyone unable to attend, but interested in childcare opportunities, can gain further information on www. surestartcountydurham.org, or by telephoning (0800) 9172917.