PUPILS put their green fingers to the test when they helped to plant 37,000 new trees to help turn a landfill site into a country park.

The group of 20, 14 to 15-year-olds from Newton Community High School visited the Lyme and Wood site on Vista Road last week to help in the first phase of the site's restoration.

Cory Environmental, which manages the site, has commissioned the planting with Mersey Forest as part of a wider scheme to restore it to a country park.

Alistair Holl, Cory Environmental's regional landfill manager, said: "The forest will be something that future generations can enjoy so it's only fitting for the younger generation to take a look at what's happening on the site and help with the planting."

The site will form an integral part of the Mersey Forest network and will provide a platform for increased public access through St Helens Council initiatives, such as the creation of the Newton Heritage Trail and plans to increase the bridleway network.

The whole restoration project will take place over the next six to eight years and is part-funded through the Forestry Commission's Woodland Grant Scheme.

Mining started on the site more than a century ago but following its closure in 1971 it has remained derelict for the past 30 years.