BOLTON students will help bring some colour to the lives of sick and orphaned children.

A team of 20 art and design pupils at Bolton Sixth Form College's North Campus have produced cartoon murals to brighten up the lives of the Romanian youngsters.

The work was completed after the college's Head of Expressive Arts, Peter Dowling, was made aware of the dire conditions which some children must live in.

And it was Bolton landlady Lilian Longmire who first highlighted the children's depressing surroundings.

Lilian, who runs the Sweet Green Tavern pub on Crook Street with husband Tony, has helped to raise more than £3,000 in goods and cash for Romanian children's hospitals and orphanages in the last six years.

She said: "There are lots of poorly children who need help who have to stay in some really depressing rooms.

"When I came back from a visit in March I decided to try to brighten up the children's orphanage and hospital.

"It's very upsetting to see the children. I came out of the orphanage in tears. When you pick a child up they just cling on to you and don't want to let go."

Now the murals, which feature characters such as Snow White and Daffy Duck, will form part of a convoy of goods which will be shipped out later this month.

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