Bradford Bulls players have teamed up with youngsters in the city to promote healthy eating.

Pupils from Tong School, in Tong Street, called on the support of the squad to star in their educational video.

The film's goal is to encourage youngsters across the district to ditch junk food and eat more fruit and vegetables.

Centre Karl Pratt and full-back Michael Withers were filmed cooking up a healthy meal on location at Woodside Grove, the Bulls' training ground, to show that anyone can prepare a nutritious snack.

The Jamie Oliver-style show will form one part of the finished video project which the students have been working on for four months. Funded by Bradford South and West Primary Care Trust (PCT), the final version is being prepared with Acorn Video.

It will also be used to promote the Five A Day programme at an early age.

The initiative aims to encourage people to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day to help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases.

The PCT's Five A Day co-ordinator Claire Masding said they also hoped the film would help change eating habits and attitudes.

"At the start a lot of the pupils said they didn't like fruit and vegetables and weren't eating them," she said. "Over the past few weeks they've come to realise what kind of impact advertising has on their decisions. A lot of them are now eating a lot of fruit and vegetables as a direct result of this."

The students also visited St James's wholesale markets, in Essex Street, Bowling, where they were filmed dressed as professors discussing the benefits of healthy food.

Bradford Bulls community development manager Chris Rostron said promoting a healthy lifestyle was a major part of their work in Bradford and across West Yorkshire.

e-mail: carolyne.coyle @bradford.newsquest.co.uk