SCHOOL might be out for summer but artistic youngsters in Chesham spent two days learning something new this week.

More than 30 lads went down to the Moor, in Waterside, to learn how to create graffiti art that means something.

Outreach workers from Buckinghamshire County Council organised the workshop to help them keep busy during the long hot summer holidays.

The group, aged between 11 and 19, got suited up in protective clothing and donned breathing masks to create graffiti that reflects Waterside and what the area means to them.

James Fowler, who ran the programme with Sarah Bevis, said: "We have been working in the area for three months now. We know young people are really interested in art and in particular street art.

"We wanted them to be able to try it out in a controlled environment, where they were not going to get into trouble for doing it."

Sarah Jane Worthington, an artist from High Wycombe, showed the young men how graffiti should be done then gave them the opportunity to try it for themselves. The community artist has been involved with youth projects across south Bucks for many years.

Some of her work is on display in Chesham's Pond Park.

Mr Fowler said: "It was really successful. We put together four boards on the second day. It turned into a mural about the Moor. They all feel protective about their area and wanted to show that in the art.

"We wanted them to do something that meant something. One of the boards was graffiti writing Waterside and the others were a picture of Chesham from the Moor."

The finished piece of street art could be on show for the whole summer at The Moor if Chesham Town Council agrees.