PEACE and quiet reigned in several households this summer thanks to the initiative of a South Lakeland student who set up a children's holiday play scheme to occupy youngsters.

The daily sessions of fun and games for five to 11-year-olds was the brainchild of Samantha Cook, a final-year trainee teacher at St Martin's College, Ambleside.

The 21-year-old had helped with a similar scheme in Harrogate near where her parents lived, and decided to take the plunge and start her own group in Ambleside.

Up to 40 children flocked from surrounding villages and towns to St Martin's Sports Hall for five weeks of activities.

For just £1-an-hour, they were kept busy and entertained with arts and crafts, such as pasta pictures and potato printing, as well as sports and visits from local community figures such as the police.

Samantha enlisted help to run the pilot project, by hiring fellow teaching students Dean Howard, Bianca Smith, Kelly Maguire, and Louise Blamires.

"It wasn't difficult to set up but it was very time consuming getting permission from different avenues and advertising," she said.

"But it has been a brilliant experience for everybody - the staff enjoyed it as much as the kids and joined in all the games, and it's been a fun way of learning for the youngsters."

She added: "Although we're not fully qualified we are all on the teaching course, have experience with children and are insured.

Parents have been asking if I will run it each year, which I would love to do and I am looking into doing it at Easter if the University's holidays match up with the school breaks."