Some of Epsom's youngest readers embraced World Book Week this week with a helping hand from the mayor.

Mayor Neil Dallen paid a visit to Treetops Epsom Nursery on Tuesday (January 29) and joined the children and staff for a special book-reading session.

Speaking to the Epsom Comet, nursery staff said that Michel Rosen's 1989 classic We're Going On A Bear Hunt was a firm favourite and that Cllr Dallen and mayoress Ann Dallen read this and other stories to the children.

Manager Laura Lunn and teacher Angela Gray said: "We have been bringing in lots of stories from home to share with each other...The Mayor and Mayoress came to the nursery to share stories with us. They read We're Going On A Bear Hunt and also a special story of their grandsons they brought in."

They added that the children had fun trying on the mayor's chain of office.

The teaching pair also acknowledged the importance of literacy to early-years development.

They said: "It's so lovely to see everybody in the local community embracing story-telling week. Literacy and language are such a big part of a child's development, and something we focus very highly on."