WORKMEN in an East Yorkshire village have been helping children with their independent writing – not in the classroom, but through road resurfacing.

As the roads in Bishop Wilton were relaid, friendly road workers did not want the progress to go unnoticed and decided to teach local schoolchildren about it.

The youngsters were able to observe and ask questions about the process. They then wrote about their experiences when they returned to school.

For the children, though, there was one highlight when the workmen painted a drawing of a minion from the Despicable Me films on the road and asked them to guess what it was.

One of the children, Reuben Moore, said: “A very nice man painted a minion. We had to guess what it was. I guessed it first and so my name was painted too. The roadworks were fantastic because the road is no longer bumpy.”

The makeshift artwork will not remain, though, as it was covered over for the final road surface to be laid.

Clare Webb, head of school, said: “The infant children wanted to write about what they had seen.

“They couldn’t get the words down quick enough! I am proud of them all for their excellent work.”