Children from two west Cumbrian schools are taking part in a space project with British astronaut Tim Peake.

The schools are planting seeds that have spent six months in zero gravity and seeds that have not.

They will monitor and compare their growth.

Pupils at Derwent Vale Primary School in Great Clifton have already emailed Mr Peake on the International Space Station and received a reply thanking them for their help.

The children have also watched videos of the British astronaut, including one showing him brushing his teeth in zero gravity.

Teacher Heather Greer said her five and six-year-olds are beyond excited.

She said: "These little ones are now using words like micro-gravity.

"Some of them are expecting the plants to be aliens.

"I have tried to explain that alien could also mean that they are plants that will not grow in this place."

At Crosscanonby St John's Primary School in Crosby, local amateur astronomer Chris Perry visited pupils to talk about the space station and the space seed programme.

Headteacher Chris Steele said the whole school would be involved in one way or another but the project was being led by year three.

He added: "The children are very excited and have been hypothesising about what might happen.

"I hope something does. I hope the seeds grow."

While the children are growing their plants on earth, Tim Peake will be doing the same in space.

The project is being run by the UK Space Agency in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society.

Schools have been given details on how to monitor the seed growth.

The seed batches are marked in two different packs but the the children will not know which are the space seeds.

At the end of the project findings will be sent to the space agency and the results will be published later.