Parents in Northamptonshire are being offered the chance to give their children an unusual educational day out - in prison.

The visits, organised by HMP Wellingborough and Wellingborough Police, are aimed at deterring youngsters from a life of drugs and crime.

School groups from across the county have already toured Wellingborough jail and listened to inmates' tales - but now the scheme is being opened up to worried parents.

Police constable John Pearce told parents: "If your son or daughter is showing signs of drugs or alcohol misuse, signs of criminal behaviour or any behaviour which is concerning you, they may benefit from a visit to Wellingborough Prison."

They get perceptions of prison life from TV but when they come inside, they see it's tough Glen Banks, project coordinator

He said the visits, which are free, would show "the realities of prison life - which is not a holiday camp as some people think".

The "Drugs and Crime Mean Doing Time" project began in July 2000.

Schoolchildren are given tours of the prison, and are shown some of the weapons that have been found hidden there.

Serving prisoners perform an hour-long play showing how easy it is to slip into a life of drug addiction and crime.

Project coordinator Glen Banks said: "The pupils who have visited us so far have got a lot out of it.

"It's not just a short, sharp shock, but reality.

"They get perceptions of prison life from TV but when they come inside, they see it's tough."

Posters advertising the scheme are going up in police stations across the county.