CHILDREN at a Blackpool primary school have been raising money for less fortunate pupils in Romania.

Thirty-eight kids in Ruth Day's class at Revoe County Primary School have raised more than £1,500 for the Romania Now appeal and will be able to see the results of their efforts by the summer.

Stuart Ward, whose daughter is in Mrs Day's class, is driving a seven-and-a-half tonne lorry full of educational equipment to Bucharest in May.

Stuart and friend Mick Blundell will be filming their 1,460-mile trip to Bucharest where they will be visiting five schools with books, pens, paper, typewriters, photocopiers and other vital supplies.

Stuart said: "It's unbelievable how involved the kids have become. They just keep asking questions about where Romania is and how we are going to get there.

"It's children helping children and that's the important thing."

The fundraising began last October when Ruth Day came back from a trip to Romania and decided she wanted to raise some money for the schools she had seen.

Mrs Day said: "The people there have nothing and yet they are so wonderful and welcoming.

"The teachers have so little to work with and yet they do such a marvellous job."

The children, aged eight and nine, began by selling items between each other to raise small amounts of money and the fundraising has snowballed into a major project.

A "knitted chickens" craze has swept round the school as teachers and parents have knitted fluffy chickens with small eggs for sale in the playground.

Mrs Day said: "We can't knit fast enough to keep up with the demand!"

The class hope to have raised £2,000 by the time Stuart and Mick set off on May 6.

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