CHILDREN at an Oldham primary school have created their own "pebble trail" to boost community spirit during the lockdown.

The youngsters at Alexandra Park Junior School in Brook Lane were inspired by their Year 5 teacher Samantha Nicholson-Hickling to create the novel trail.

Mrs Nicholson-Hickling said: "Last lockdown, the painted pebbles seemed to be everywhere.

"We decided we wanted to bring our community back together even though we are apart. Most of the children take their daily walks through Alexandra Park, so we thought we'd create our pebbles and hide them in the park.

"We hid them on Thursday, and by Friday when we went back to the park some were already gone. We are hoping they've been moved and rehidden for others to find."

The children have written the school's Twitter handle on the back of the all the rocks in hopes that they will get some photographs sent back to them. The pebble trail has been shared with the children at home via the schools online learning platform Class Dojo as well as on Twitter.

One of the children in the Year 5 bubble said: "It's been a fantastic thing to do. We've really enjoyed painting the pebbles with lots of different designs. We hope everyone else enjoys finding them as much as we've enjoyed making them."

The pebbles also formed the final part of the children's mental health awareness week work. The pebbles were a way for the children to express themselves.

Mrs Nicholson-Hickling added: "It's been a wonderful activity to see the children really showing off their creative skills. They were able to do some research on previously painted pebbles, and then just let their imaginations run wild! I'm so proud of them for all their hard work. I hope everyone enjoys finding them and the children see the benefits of their hard work. We need to stay connected as much as possible while we are separated by lockdown, and this is just one way we can do it."