HUNDREDS of primary school children are to get ‘money lessons’ amid fears youngsters are hacking parental accounts.

The scheme, which is currently being rolled out in East Lancashire, will teach youngsters everything from credit and debit cards to pay day loans and gambling.

It includes eight high schools and 3,200 primary school children across Lancashire. High school students are to be coached as ‘money mentors’ to teach primary school children aged between nine and eleven.

Brian Souter, who retired as head at Southlands High School in Chorley last year, is behind the introduction of the scheme.

He said many children who take part have already used smart phones to hack into parental accounts, and even gamble underage.

The Hollins Technology College, Haslingden High School, Sir John Thursby College in Burnley and Shuttleworth College in Padiham are participating along with their partnered primaries.

A significant part of the programme teaches children the value of money and also about ‘money risks’ such as payday loans and gambling.

The scheme has won the enthusiastic support of Hyndburn MP Graham Jones who has campaigned about the effect of these issues on his constituency.

He said: “I think the older children mentoring the younger ones is unique and valuable.

“I was amazed at how much the pupils knew about budgeting, the cost of living and value for money.

“Knowing about money is an essential life skill.”

Brian Souter said he had been astonished at how savvy some children are about the technology needed to hack accounts. He said: “These lessons are so valuable because money is something everyone has to deal with, and the majority of people in society are financially illiterate.

“It is now so much easier for children to use a credit card to pretend to be older than they really are. That’s why these financial lessons should come sooner rather than later so children understand the value of money.”