PUPILS and teachers at Bowbrook House School spent a day doodling to raise cash for charity.

Youngsters at the school, at Peopleton, near Pershore, took part in the fourth National Doodle Day on Friday to raise funds for Epilepsy Action and the Neurofibromatosis Association. The event is sponsored by educational games console company Vtech, and schoolchildren from across the UK competed for the chance to win V.Smile Learning Systems and V.Smile Art Studios for their schools.

The winning doodle was chosen by Doodle Day patron, actor and author Maureen Lipman, and other famous names joined in the doodling, including authors Jacqueline Wilson and Raymond Briggs, TV presenter Fearne Cotton, Harry Potter actor Oliver Phelps and James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

An online auction was launched on eBay on National Doodle Day and will run for 10 days, giving people the opportunity to bid for their favourite celebrity doodle.

Vtech marketing director Katy Chan said: "We are very pleased to be able to support two such worthwhile charities.

"The activities around National Doodle Day are great fun and we hope that through our sponsorship of the event we can help encourage people to get involved and win some great Vtech prizes."

And Paul Tranter, fund-raising manager for Epilepsy Action, said in the past three years doodling had raised more than £100,000 to help support people with epilepsy and neurofibromatosis.

Roberta Tweedy, of the Neurofibromatosis Association, said: "National Doodle Day has really entered the nation's consciousness.

"Each year more and more people are taking part and it is such a fun way to raise vital funds and increase awareness for two little known and often misunderstood medical conditions."