IT was a case of all hands on deck last Saturday when troops were drafted in to Fishwick County Primary to give the school a revamp.

Members of the Queen's Lancashire Company, and enthusiastic volunteers from local businesses joined pupils and teachers in a unique one-day challenge to improve the school.

The scheme was the brainchild of the Greater Deepdale Business Support Group which aims to boost the social and economic conditions of the area.

And the school certainly benefited when the main hall was given an overhaul and the garden made safer for youngsters to play in.

Headteacher Helen Underwood was thrilled with it, she said: "The children are really pleased with how brighter the place looks, they think I have had the hall extended because it looks so much bigger. All we need now are some new curtains."

In fact the hall was repaired and given a fresh coat of paint by volunteers from British Telecom, Marks and Spencers, BNFL, Sainsbury's, St George's Shopping Centre, and Tele West, and outside the garden was landscaped by Norwest-Holst Construction Ltd.

Business Support Group chairman, Col Mike Shearman based at Kimberley Barracks in Deepdale Road, praised the volunteers. He said: "This is an excellent example of the people working together to benefit the whole community. But we could do with more local businesses getting involved in this project, almost all these here today are national firms."

Also involved were Ainscough Metals, Akzo-Nobel, North Eastern Electrics, Red Rose Radio Ltd, and paints and materials were supplied by Wicks, B&Q, Speedy Scaffold, and Summit Decoratives.

The Greater Deepdale Business Support Group was set up last year by the charity, Business in the Community, which encourages organisations to give something back to their neighbourhood. Any local firms interested should call Raksha Pattni on 01772 563941.

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