PUPILS at a Somerset school got their hands dirty in the battle to tackle climate change.

Year 7 students at Kingsmead School, in Wiveliscombe, took up their spades, gardening gloves to help a team of volunteers during a mass tree planting effort on school grounds.

Around 400 tree saplings were provided by the Woodland Trust, as part of their mission to support schools and communities in getting millions of trees planted across the country - and the youngsters got to work.

A school spokesperson said: "The students were first given instructions and a demonstration on how to plant the small sapling trees before each having the chance to plant their own tree in one of the marked-out spots."

A variety of tree species were planted, included rowan, crab apple, hazel and more.

"It is hoped the trees will stand for years to come and aid students’ understanding of the positive acts that can be made to mitigate climate change and increase biodiversity," the spokesperson added.