More youngsters than ever before have taken up a reading challenge in Huddersfield.

The annual Kirklees Summer Reading challenge reached new heights of success this year with a 14% increase in the numbers taking part, as the total passed 4,400.

The scheme is the annual summer holiday activity that encourages children to read for pleasure and put them ahead in the classroom.

Clr Shabir Pandor, Kirklees Cabinet member for Libraries, said: “This challenge aimed to keep the district’s children engrossed in a book throughout the long summer holidays.

“The good news is that this year in Kirklees we have had a 14% increase in the number of children starting the Summer Reading Challenge – that’s over 4,400 primary school age children.

“They were encouraged to take part by library staff and volunteers in this fun scheme which helped to increase reading skills in time for the autumn term.”

Children aged four to 11 are invited to read six books over the course of the summer holiday and this year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme was ‘Creepy houses’ illustrated by award-winning Chris Riddell.

The Kirklees scheme once again recruited Summer Reading Challenge Champions aged between 16-25 years, who enrolled children onto the challenge.

They then kept track of the children’s progress, handed out incentives, helped them to choose their next book title and talked with them about what they have been reading.