CREATIVE children at a Batchley school have been getting to the knitty gritty of making a Christmas gift for residents at a nearby care home.

Youngsters at Birchensale Middle School in Bridley Moor Road have caught the knitting bug and created a colourful blanket during daily after-school club sessions led by teaching assistant Margaret Widdowson.

The blanket is made up of individual knitted patches, which have each been crafted by some of the club members.

Up to 28 pupils attend the daily after hours sessions, taking the opportunity to catch up on homework, use the library or try different arts and crafts.

The finished blanket will be handed over to the Cedars Nursing Home on Wednesday, December 14.

On the same afternoon, the school choir will be singing Christmas carols for residents at the Cedar Park Road home.

"The quilt is really bright and colourful and is big enough to put over one of the residents' laps," said school headteacher Ingrid Bridgewater.