Kids enjoy show inside giant inflatable whale

Ethel described the experience as a little bit scary but fun

More than 240 kids and parents have enjoyed an entertaining and educational theatre performance - inside an 18 metre-long inflatable sperm whale.

The free puppetry show was delivered at Westbridge Park in Stone, Staffordshire, by all-female theatre company Circo Rum Ba Ba.

Ethel, aged eight, was among those who allowed their imagination to be swept away in the illusion of the "underwater" performance.

"We've just rescued a turtle from eating plastic," she said.

When asked what she had learned from the show, she replied: "We should never put trash in the sea.

"We could use the trash and make it into something different."

The one-day event on Tuesday was organised and funded by Stone Town Council.

The authority's events organiser Lindsay Fleetwood explained the show was one of a number of free activities the council had provided for young people in the town over recent years.

"We appreciate the challenges involved in keeping the kids entertained without spending a fortune and without having to travel," she said.

A long queue of families waited patiently for the six performances that were held during the course of the day.

Ms Fleetwood said she was pleased that people left each performance having "thoroughly enjoyed it", with a heightened awareness of the issue of plastics in the ocean.

Sea creatures

Five-year-old Max watched the show as part of his summer holiday trip from Norfolk to visit his grandparents.

He fully understood the message of the performance, saying: "We shouldn't leave plastic down at the sea because lots of sea creatures could get stuck in it."

The youngster described Circo Rum Ba Ba's show as "hot, light and sort of dark."

Those attending the show learned about turtles