BLACKPOOL pupils experienced the drama of road safety when a special play toured ten primary schools.

The Tiny Giants theatre company performed "Spike" -- a fun 50 minute interactive theatre production -- to hundreds of seven to nine- year-olds across the borough last week to help them learn how to stay safe near roads.

Ann Shellard, spokesman for Claremont Primary School, North Shore, said the children were enthralled by the performance at their school on Thursday, March 21.

She said: "There were three young actors and they really made road safety fun. They were doing raps, and there was a lot of comedy involved, but they got across a serious message to the children.

"There was lots of audience participation, dancing, singing and rapping. It was really on the children's wavelength.

"What we have had in the past were quite serious and staid talks which are very important, but I think the children switch off.

"This was very modern and they had the children constantly repeating the messages we want to get across."

The Westminster Road school pupils followed up the performance by designing road safety posters to put up in school and talking in class about the performance.

The five-day tour was funded by Blackpool Challenge Partnership, the Community Safety Partnerships and Blackpool Borough Council in response to a recent public consultation on road safety.

Councillor Fred Jackson, who has special responsibility for road safety, said: "The council places a high priority on road safety education. Children, particularly at this age, are very vulnerable in the road environment -- especially as pedestrians -- and the play considers such issues as where and when to cross the road and where not to cross the road."