RIVINGTON rocks – and that’s official!

Families raised £153.23 for charity at Rivington Rocks’ delayed Easter event which saw people get together to paint, find and hide rocks.

The encounter took place at Rivington Hall Barn on Monday and organisers say that around 150 children joined in.

It was supposed to go ahead on April 2, but organisers were thwarted by the weather.

The money raised will go towards Rivington Heritage Trust to support the restoration project in the terraced gardens.

Participants at the festival could get involved by following clues to rocks and painting their own.

There was also a face painter and a cake stall.

Organiser Danielle Joule said: “The event was a huge success and the sunshine made the day even better.

"We even managed to collect 15 bags of rubbish on the day with litter pickers and bags that were provided to us from Litter Pickers of North Bolton.”

The Rivington Rocks craze was established several months ago by Ms Joule and her partner Kelby Makin, who were inspired by several other groups across the country.

The idea is to get children to paint and varnish stones then hide them for others to discover.

The pair created a Facebook page so they could share the activity with others and it has since gained more than 5,000 likes.

One benefit of the fun activity is that it encourages children to move away from their phone and tablet screens by doing craft and going outside.

Participants can share information about their rocks on the Facebook page to challenge others to find them.