STUDENTS from Netherhall School joined Maryport Council in bringing Christmas cheer to the elderly.

Year seven students have been going around Maryport rest homes singing carols and Christmas songs and spending times talking to residents.

They have been accompanied by Santa Claus, the chairman of Maryport Town Council Angela Kendall and clerks Paul Bramley and Lisa Douglas.

The students brought song while the council brought sweets and biscuits to appreciative residents.

Children from Netherhall School also performed A Christmas Carol in front of a sold-out crowd in the school's recently-renovated Ellen Theatre, with a matinee performance for residents of Maryport care homes proving to be a hit.

The productions were so successful that the school wants to make them a regular event, with plans to hold two or three different performances a year with pupils from year seven to sixth form involved.