STUDENTS at a Pendle school have been asked to "tie themselves in knots" over Christmas and New Year as part of an imaginative fundraising campaign to help the homeless.

Pupils at Primet High, Colne, are taking part in a competition organised by The Big Issue called the String of Ideas Challenge.

Youngsters across the country have been asked to come up with an innovative use for a length of string to highlight the plight of homeless young people.

Ideas such as using the string as a lapel badge similar to the coloured ribbon badges used for various campaigns, or organising a tug of string contest, have been suggested as the kind of imaginative schemes organisers are seeking.

The national winner will get £1,000 for his or her school. The challenge was laid down to Primet pupils on Wednesday during their final assembly before the Christmas break.

Acting head David Fletcher also asked students to take part in an internal school competition to spot a single difference between its newsletter and the computerised, on-line version just launched.

The winner will get their own web page on the school's internet site.

"We wanted to make the pupils aware of the issue of homelessness, particularly amongst young people," explained Mr Fletcher.

A non-uniform day on Tuesday raised money for The Big Issue and the Samaritans. A final figure is not known but organisers are hoping it raised a amount similar to a previous non-uniform day, which produced £850 for Children in Need.

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