Children at a Norwich school have been getting lessons in how they can save water - and not just because of the drought.

Norfolk County Council is beginning a drive to save money and water in council buildings so county councillor Phil Hardy - who has responsibility for carbon reduction within the council's cabinet - went along to Lionwood Junior School to help pupils understand how they can help.

The county councillor for the Thorpe Hamlet division went along to the Wolfe Road school on Tuesday to join an Anglian Water lesson on how to save water.

He said: 'Teaching children from a young age these good behaviours, such as not leaving the tap running when brushing their teeth, is vital because they are the future.

'The woman from Anglian Water was fantastic because she was literally showing the children how much water they were saving with good practice and bad practice.

'She showed them that they use five litres when they leave the tap running but just a quarter when they don't.'

Mr Hardy is working alongside Anglian Water to try and save money for the county council, by making sure there are water metres in all council buildings.

He continued: 'At the moment we waste a lot of water in council buildings. Currently we pay about �1.7m a year and with water metres we believe that can be brought down to �1.1m.

'So that's a �600,000 saving, which is quite substantial in these times of cuts.'

The message from the light-hearted lesson seems to have hit home with the pupils at Lionwood, as deputy headteacher John McConnell, said: 'It's good to teach this while they are young, when they are keen to do it, because they like to feel important and like they can make a difference, and they can.

'There were lots of practical things, like a shower cap to show how to save water when you shower and a sponge for how to save water when you wash a car.

'When lessons are more practical like that, usually it will stay with them, and hopefully it will because the difference was quite marked between using the water-saving options and not.'

- Is your school holding an event? Contact reporter David Freezer on 01603 772418 or david.freezer@archant.co.uk