UNIFORMS at a Furness school were ditched for denim on Friday as pupils did their bit for Jeans for Genes day.

Staff and hundreds of children at Barrow's Chetwynde School took part in the annual charity event to raise awareness of genetic diseases and support classmate Milly Pyne, of Ulverston, who has Crozons Syndrome.

The six-year-old from Rake Lane was born with the extremely rare genetic disorder which means her skull plates are fused together affecting her growth, facial development and breathing.

She has undergone three operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, and is back on the wards every eight weeks for treatment something she will have to have until she is fully-grown.

"She's an absolute star," said her mum Vicky Pyne. "She takes it all in her stride and never creates a fuss. She sits there in hospital and lets them do whatever they need to."

Alongside the school, the whole family has mucked in to raise cash for the Jeans for Genes appeal which donates some of the proceeds to Great Ormond Street.

Milly's eight-year-old sister Alice baked cakes and biscuits to sell to her Chetwynde classmates while Mum, Dad, Grandad and family friends put up with the weekend's torrential rain to complete a sponsored hike around Coniston and up the soaring slopes of Coniston Old Man.

The mufti day and weekend's soggy exertions have raised £1,000 for the cause.