MORE than 2,000 youngsters across the borough have taken part in this year's Summer Reading Challenge.

The annual campaign by the Reading Agency, which runs from July to September, is aimed at keeping children reading during the summer school holidays.

This year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme was Space Chase and saw almost 20 per cent more young people in Warrington completing the challenge compared to 2018.

The mission was for children to read up to six library books over the summer in return for awards and prizes.

Chris Everett, LiveWire senior community librarian, said: "We have had a busy summer in libraries with a great activities programme and so many children joining in with Summer Reading Challenge.

"It was really exciting to see such an increase in the numbers taking part in the challenge so we are delighted to see the best ever set of results.

"It is brilliant that children are finding great books that fire their imagination and are being encouraged to love reading. It really was an out of this world summer!"

Warrington Borough Council’s cabinet member for leisure and community, Cllr Tony Higgins, said: "The Summer Reading Challenge is a fantastic initiative, encouraging children to use their library, take part in activities and discover the joy of books.

"I’m delighted that this year’s programme has been such a huge success.

"Connecting with more than 2,000 children from across Warrington shows that the initiative is going from strength to strength."

Emma Braithwaite, Summer Reading Challenge programme manager at The Reading Agency, said: "What a great result!

"We are really pleased that so many children in Warrington enjoyed the Summer Reading Challenge and that more than 1,000 of them read at least six books to complete Space Chase.

"We’d like to say a big thank you to the library staff who make the Challenge such a special programme to be a part of every year.

"Congratulations to all who took part and we hope to see you return to Warrington's libraries for the 2020 Challenge."