THE politicians have had their say -- now local schoolchildren are joining the argument on the Western Bypass.

Inspired by reading about the bypass debate in the Citizen, year five children at Dallas Road county primary school in Lancaster put pen to paper.

The children explained why they were against the bypass, raising issues like space for playing fields, the lives of animals and the lack of fresh air.

The youngsters, aged nine and 10, were helped by class teacher Adrian Copping, who said: "We talked about local issues and I asked the children to read the papers to find something they could write about.

"They saw the articles in the Citizen where councillors gave their views on the bypass. We were looking for something that the children could write about with a purpose.

"The children found writing the letters quite challenging, especially when they realised we were going to send them out.

"They keep asking me if any of their letters have been printed and when they will appear. I just tell them to read their Citizen."

All 17 children who gave their views on the bypass Matthew Naish, 10 wrote: "It is not a good idea to have a bypass because it will take cash from Morecambe and pour money into Heysham which is hardly a tourist attraction."

Rosie Deegan, 10 and a half, wrote: "I want to argue that the bypass shouldn't be built and I have many reasons.

"My first reason is a lot of wildlife would be affected such as; swans, signets, ducks, ducklings, fish, moorhens and many more."

John Booth, 10, wrote: "I do not agree with the Lancaster bypass it could affect wildlife because trucks could run them over."