YOUNGSTERS swapped their school uniforms for bright colours to raise money for desperately poor people around the world.

Children at St Mary's School also donated tinned food to the homeless in Leeds during a non uniform day as part of a harvest festival fundraising campaign.

Older pupils at the school were asked to wear bright colours and bring in one pound each towards the campaign being run by the Catholic aid agency CAFOD. More than £100 was raised and will go towards the charity's work in helping communities to grow their own food. Younger pupils were asked to bring in tins of food for homeless people in Leeds.

CAFOD is working with communities in Bolivia's Altiplano region where nearly 60 per cent of the rural population are living below the poverty line. Unpredictable rains and frequent hailstorms are destroying the crops which the communities rely on.

The charity’s partners are working to provide greenhouses to protect crops and train communities with new farming techniques to help them grow enough crops to feed their families.

CAFOD’s representative in Horsforth, Joanne Taylor, said: "Harvest fast days are a great way of bringing people together and raising an incredible amount of money to help others, so we’d like to say a huge thanks to the pupils at St. Mary’s for their generosity.

"Harvest is traditionally a time of abundance, where communities come together and share food. In this time of abundance, it is important that we remember those who are without food and join together, putting our faith into action to help create a fairer world."

Visit cafod.org.uk/harvest to donate to the appeal.