Pupils smash puppet show record

The children performed at Torquay's Riviera Centre

Children from a Devon primary school have set a new world record for the biggest amateur puppet show.

A cast of 402 pupils from Cockington Primary School in Torquay took part to break the record, with a dramatisation based on a Mayan myth.

The children worked with Totnes-based Far & Wide Puppets to dramatise the story of Hurican and the Feathered Snake.

The world record attempt at Torquay's Riviera Centre coincided with the school's art week.

The co-ordination was quite challenging Lyn Hayward, Cockington Primary School

"It was absolutely brilliant," said Lyn Hayward, a teaching assistant at the school.

"We managed to get 402 puppeteers on stage with a total of 463 puppets."

"The co-ordination was quite challenging, getting them all on and off stage.

"But they did everything as they were supposed to and the children are very excited."

From four-year-olds in reception to the 11-year-olds in year six, every child in the school made their own puppet.

Their creations ranged from shoals of fish to gigantic Mayan gods and from flocks of flamingos to meetings of mud people.

Far & Wide Puppets already held the earlier world record for the biggest puppet show.

It was set in 2002 with a cast of 242 children in Dorset.