CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating after securing thousands of pounds to turn a bus in to a library.

Parents, teachers and children at Aldersbrook Primary School beat stiff competition to seal £10,000 from the Aviva Community Fund.

Campaigners have waited nervously to find out the bid’s fate after reaching the final stage of the competition in November. They will now fill a double-decker bus in the playground with books.

Jo Blackman, who submitted the bid on behalf of the PTA said: “It’s amazing, a nice surprise. Everyone involved in this project knows it’s special and will make a huge difference to children.

“We want to get books that suit children with different needs like English as a foreign language and books for dyslexic kids.

“The bus will be a place for parents and volunteers from other schools to come and read with children.

“£10,000 worth of books will transform the reading opportunities for so many children at Aldersbrook.

“The judges highly rated the project which is testimony to the hard work of the headteacher and parents who have come together to make his exciting project a reality.”

Brian Hughes, headteacher at Aldersbrook Primary said: “We are so delighted to have been informed that we have received £10 000 funding to help with our Bus Library project.

“This donation will escalate the project from being a great library to being a library that will inspire and delight all of the children at Aldersbrook and a space that will continue to do so for many years.

“We can't wait to get started now. Thank you to the Aldersbrook community and Aviva for supporting this project.

“This project has only been possible thanks to the support of Finkernagel Ross architects, ISG contractors, MHA consulting engineers and Stagecoach who donated the bus.”

Staff acquired the bus last summer due to the lack of space for a conventional library.