YOUNGSTERS from East Lancashire schools met Cold Feet star John Thomson when they went to the BBC Radio Lancashire studios as part of a prize in a short story competition.

Radio Lancashire teamed up with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, to organise the competition, which invited youngsters to write the second part of 'The Visitor', about a mysterious caller at a house, in a style suitable for radio broadcast. Over 100 stories were sent in from schools across the county.

All the winners, including Nicola Jones from Our Lady and St John School, Blackburn, Paula Chorlton from St Wilfrid's High School, Blackburn and Beatrice Cross and Guy Isherwood from Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, will soon receive an interactive CD-ROM with all their stories narrated by actor John Thomson, who also stars in The Fast Show.

The students were introduced to the popular actor by senior producer John Clayton and then watched and listened in the studio as he recorded the words they had written. Phil Lloyd, Development Director at QEGS, said: "One of our teachers had the original idea and wrote the first half of the story. The challenge to the students was to use their imagination and powers of description to complete the story in an interesting way.

"The winning pupils wrote excellent conclusions to the story, very suitable for radio broadcast, and were all thrilled to meet John Thomson."

The stories will be broadcast on Radio Lancashire shortly after Easter.