JUNIOR news hounds were quick off the mark when a BBC film crew set up outside their school, providing them with a front page lead.

The Whizz Kid's Weekly has been written, published and sold by 31 pupils from years three and four at St Stephen's CE School, Burnley.

The youngsters were involved in determining content and editing pages and were delighted when BBC1 turned up on their doorstep and started filming for Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.

Although Patricia Routledge, who plays the leading role, was a bit busy to chat to the children, location manager Clive Arnold agreed to be interviewed.

Armed with a tape recorder and a series of questions such as 'How long does it take to film an episode?' and 'What qualifications or training do you need to do your job?' the reporters notched up a scoop. Amateur photographer Joseph Litt managed to snap Hetty dodging the rain in Woodgrove Road.

He also developed the prints with help from his father.

The newspaper details school news and events, reviews and puzzles, Burnley Football Club news about the resignation of Jimmy Mullen and national stories including the IRA breaking its ceasefire and the Sea Empress running aground at Milford Haven. Class teacher Judith Glover said the children had been studying the history of printing and writing and the newspaper was the culmination of the work.

The children, aged eight and nine, sold about 60 copies and hope to produce the second edition of Whizz Kid's Weekly in the summer.

The paper is going to be entered in the Daily Telegraph competition for school newspapers.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.