Walking hand in hand, the pupils - all 480 of them - had set off from their school in Bexton Lane to celebrate their harvest festival at Knutsford Parish Church.

At one point the queue of tiny feet stretched from Toft Road to the church doors.

Earlier a chap had rung the Knutsford Guardian.

"What's happening at Bexton school?" he asked.

"Has there been a fire? All the children are leaving."

To drivers waiting patiently at the traffic lights, it looked like a logistical nightmare for the school's teaching staff.

"I need eyes in the back of my head and I've only got three children to worry about," said one mum.

But headteacher Sandra Heard said it wasn't as tricky as it looked.

"We've done it so many times now there isn't a problem," she said.

Mrs Heard also took an active role in road safety on the day, donning a fluorescent coat to escort the children across Toft Road.

"We used the lights, but I think the coat certainly helped me to stand out because I was standing in the middle of the road," she said.

After the service, which was conducted by the Vicar Nigel Atkinson, the pupils retraced their steps - back to school.

HAND IN HAND: Pupils from Bexton school retrace their steps after their harvest festival servicePictures: Geoff Statham

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.