YOUNGSTERS at Oakhill College, Whalley, had an eggstraordinary time when they tried their hands at being parents.

Inspired by Anne Fine's book 'Flour Babies,' about a fictional school class which had to look after six-pound bags of flour as if they were real babies, a group of year 8 pupils produced their own Eggbabies -- hard boiled eggs which were painted with faces and features and even given arms, legs and clothes.

A spokesperson for the college said: "The challenge of looking after the newborn proved too difficult for some of the children -- one boy managed to kill two, two other babies suffered multiple injuries, another had a fractured skull and a further two were taken into 'care' because they weren't being treated properly."

The children's learning from the 'eggsperiment' involved keeping a diary with daily entries and bulletins about the issues associated with caring for the Eggbabies.