CHILDREN at a North Herefordshire school put a fishing fleet back in business after boats in a Sri Lankan village were wrecked by the tsunami.

Youngsters at Wigmore Primary School raised more than £2,300 in a sponsored walk, in which the whole school took part.

They are thrilled that their cash has provided 10 boats, costing £220 each.

Names chosen by the children are being painted on the boats in the village of Mawella near Tangelle in southern Sri Lanka.

Bobbing on the waves of the Indian Ocean are the Wigmore Knight (the school logo is a knight), Wigmore Rainbow, Wigmore Whale, Wigmore Kingfisher and Wigmore Magic.

The other five boats all bearing the prefix Sri Lanka are Guardian, Light, Spirit, Saviour and Wanderer.

The Wigmore money was channelled by Mary and Mark Oxley from Downton-on-the-Rock, who are working in Sri Lanka. Their children Nicola and Luke are former Wigmore primary pupils.

Mary said Mawella was badly damaged in the tsunami. Replacement fishing boats were vital to help the shattered community regain its livelihood.

She told the school in an email: "It is important that these boats are in operation as soon as possible as it is only possible to do deep water fishing until the end of April."

She asked the children to pick names for the boats and send them to Shiran and Modestus, two brothers operating a Fair Trade fishing enterprise.

The school promptly obliged and sent its love and best wishes "for the future of your fishing fleet and the rebuilding of your lives."

Now the Wigmore youngsters are hoping to get a news update and photographs of the boats.

Said school administrator Jenny Kelly: "The children are very excited about the project - I think they have chosen some really good names for the fishing fleet."