THREE bus drivers and a plastics technician had a smashing time raising money for Children In Need.

John West, Andy Robinson and Frank Walsh -- all drivers with Stagecoach Ribble -- plus Frank's son Neil, a plastics technician for RPC in Blackburn, are martial arts experts and they staged a display of sheer power at Clitheroe's new bus interchange on Saturday. In front of amazed onlookers the four smashed through 100 roof tiles.

"It's a worthy cause so we thought we would do something," said karate black-belt Frank, of Park-Lee Road, Blackburn, who has been practising martial arts for 25 years. "And the crowd seemed to enjoy it."

Sponsorship and donations have yet to be counted although Frank estimated a couple of hundred pounds was raised. And that figure could have been halved if they had to pay for their own tiles.

"A builders merchants called Dugdales in Clitheroe donated the tiles which helped," said Frank. "If they hadn't they would have cost us a couple of hundred pounds on their own."

Picture: From the left, John West, Neil and Frank Walsh and Andy and Lee Robinson limber up for their tile-smashing marathon