A GROUP of orphans who had never seen the seas until a few weeks ago came face to face with creatures from the deep at a special visit to a Blackpool attraction.

A party of 31 Tanzanian orphans visited the Sealife Centre as part of a visit to the UK organised by a Lancashire charity.

The children, aged four to 17, live at a children's home on the edge of Lake Victoria, which is funded by the Oswaldtwistle - based Northern Evangelical Trust.

"They saw the sea for the first time when they flew over it at the end of March," said Mrs Elaine Earnshaw, of Blackburn, who helped to organise the trip.

"They have certainly never seen a shark before, nor probably any of the countless other sea creatures on display at the centre, and I'm certain this is going to be a fantastic experience for them."

The children, who returned home after the visit on Tuesday, were given a special shark-feeding demonstration from the Sealife Centre's underwater glass tunnel.

"For one of the youngsters it will be an especially memorable visit, because we're going to invite one of them to join our marine experts at the top of the ocean tank and actually do some of the shark feeding themselves," said centre boss, Julie Rivas, before the visit.

The children's home in Tanzania, the Bethany Children's Home, was set up 12 years ago to care for children who have lost their parents, often through AIDS.

The Bethany Project is supported by donations from people all over Lancashire. One of its founders Graham Pountain joined the group on its visit to the Sea Life Centre.