A BUSINESS co-owned by a former Cross Roads man is diversifying to help meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis.

Bricks4Kidz normally runs regular Lego brick-building activities for Scout and Guide groups and after-school clubs, as well as at birthday parties.

But the social distancing measures mean the young builders can’t now gather at the same venue.

Instead, the Bricks4Kidz team has launched the eBuilder Club – with a wealth of activities.

Co-owner Mark Pullen said: “Social distancing means we cannot bring together groups of young builders in the same location, but the fact that most households have an abundance of Lego bricks has enabled us to shift our focus.

“Children often need encouragement and inspiration from others to make the best use of the bricks – and this can be parents, friends or some other person.

“During our sessions, the team is constantly looking to provide praise and direction so that the imagination of a child can be supported.”

The eBuilder Club provides a package featuring four weeks of themes.

Each week includes a printed Lego brick linked to the theme and an array of offline activities for children to tackle.

“This isn’t about fixed lessons at certain times of day,” said Mr Pullen.

“It’s more a filler activity which parents can use to help avoid the onset of boredom – and take some of the strain off them!”

There has been a positive initial response to the venture and the team is already geared-up to distribute the resources across West Yorkshire for the next couple of months.

Business co-owner, Debbie Pullen, said: “With most children now being isolated at home, except for some local exercise, many parents are having to come up with ways to keep them busy.

“Distance learning has become the normal practice for schools and so we decided that we’d also look at providing young builders with the chance to be given inspiration when it comes to construction.

“A new opportunity to enthuse children to make good use of their Lego bricks is welcome, but we look forward to the chance to return to delivering learning by playing in the community again.”

For more details, visit ebuildclub.co.uk.