St Martha's pupils in third year of bet

It may be sub-zero outside with more than a hint of winter, but one group of Norfolk schoolboys remain devoted to their shorts - and not just for football.

The young trio are into the third year of a dare and none of them show any signs of giving in and wearing long trousers, snow or no snow.

Proving that it's not just postmen who seem immune to plummeting temperatures and wearing shorts whatever the weather, the boys insist they don't feel a thing.

Oliver Moreland, 11, Benjamin Hamilton, 10, and Harry Pink, 11, look more like pupils of yesteryear with their smart short trousers as part of their uniform - but it has nothing to do with the sticking to the rules at their King's Lynn primary school.

'It was a bet really - how long we would wear shorts at school for, and none of us have given in yet,' said Oliver.

The uniform at St Martha's RC school does not stipulate short trousers, but the three youngsters decided to set their own trend and now are unlikely be seen in anything else.

'You don't really feel the cold. Your legs do go numb at a certain point,' said Benjamin. But Harry disagreed with his friend and said he never felt cold - and never wore long trousers.

'On a family outing I might wear cropped or three-quarter length trousers - but not long trousers,' he said.

'Last year when it snowed a lot we were outside making an igloo in our shorts and it was great,' he added.

Both Oliver and Benjamin admitted they may wear the occasional pair of trousers outside school - but in term-time it is strictly the short look for all three of them.

'I think we will be wearing them until we leave,' said Benjamin.

All three are set to change schools later this year when they head to their respective secondary schools in the town, which have not been confirmed yet.

But whether it's Springwood, King Edward VII or the Academy, all three boys hope their shorts might be allowed as part of the new uniform.

'I really hope they let me wear shorts - even on non-uniform days I wear them and wouldn't want to wear trousers,' said Harry.

His mum Hayley, a part-time teacher at St Martha's, said initially she didn't want to let Harry wear nothing but shorts.

'At first I thought they were all completely mad and I thought that they would be really cold, but he said he was going to do it anyway! As it's gone on I thought they would stop when it got cold, but they haven't. Harry is one of those children who always feels warm,' she said.

His younger brother Joseph, six, thinks it's a great idea but Mrs Pink said he was a bit too young just yet.

'Harry has told him to just do it though,' she said.

Short trousers became the normal wear for schoolboys in the 1920s when youngsters up to the age of about 13 were expected to brave the elements with their knees on show.

It was only towards the end of the 1960s that they appeared to fall out of favour with many primary schools no longer insisting on them all year round although some retained them for the summer term uniform.

Now it is only the occasional independent or public school which keeps short trousers as a requirement - although Harry, Benjamin and Oliver all hope that King's Lynn secondary schools will be re-introducing them before too long.