SCHOOLCHILDREN have raised around £300 for Iraqi children after twinning itself with a school in Basra.

Money from Audley County Infant School, Blackburn, will go to Al Bashaer Primary School, to buy equipment and supplies for the newly refurbished building.

Teacher, Linda Bagguley, who has been co-ordinating the effort, said: "We invited parents to come along to an assembly so we could talk to them generally about our twin school and to see if they might like to make a contribution.

"Some of the children stood up and talked about what they wished for Al Bashaer, and how they would like to help the children there.

"Our parents, being kind and generous as they are, were more than happy to give."

The twinning of the two schools was initiated by the Lancashire Queen's Regiment in Basra, who contacted the mayor's office in Blackburn to see if any schools in the area would be interested in forging a link with a school in Iraq.

Linda added: "We have an Iraqi student here whose Grandmother used to work at Al Bashaer, so it felt like an appropriate thing to do."