BEANS provided food for thought for a group of brave Ledbury children.

Youngsters from the Urchins day care group sat under the Market House in a paddling pool of baked beans for seven hours on Wednesday to raise funds for new equipment.

The total raised so far is £266, but administrator Roz Jarrett said there was more sponsorship money still to be collected.

"It was a very profitable day," she said. "I think after about two hours they began to think 'why have I done this?' but then they got a surge of energy!"

Ms Jarrett thanked the youngsters' parents, supermarkets Tesco and Somerfield, which provided the beans, and the staff at the Baker's Oven bakery, who provided the children with the use of their facilities and buckets of water to wash off the tomato sauce.