Year 9 and 10 pupils from Southlands School were given a guided look at a £10m scheme on their own grounds that will add 3.6 million litres of wastewater storage to help cut storm overflows during heavy rain.

Students from the Chorley school went behind the hoardings to see progress on two underground storage tanks being built within the campus. The visit offered a first-hand view of how the infrastructure will work and why the school site was selected for the installation.

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United Utilities says the project is advancing well. Once complete, the tanks will provide significant extra capacity in the local wastewater network, reducing the need for storm overflows to operate during periods of intense rainfall.

Project manager Syed Ramis Ali said: "We knew some of the pupils were interested in finding out more so we chose a time when there was a short break in construction and invited them onto site to see the work for themselves."

He added: "They had a lot of questions and we spent time explaining how the tanks will operate and why their school was the right location. It would be great if we inspired some of them to aim for a career in engineering."

The company also backed the school's recent ‘World of Work’ week, which brings local employers into the classroom to discuss job roles, routes into work and future opportunities.