SCHOOLCHILDREN had the chance to impact the way Greater Manchester's political machine works.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) sought the views of pupils from two schools in Gorton and Sale about the way it should handle the region's challenges.

These challenges include dealing with fires and floods, health imbalances and transport.

GM Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We want to get everyone’s views, and those of our young people are especially important. Plans like these are important to all of us, but especially children, as they will impact on their lives for far longer.

“Last week we were focusing on the environment and it was encouraging to see how much the planet means to them. On the back of this I extended an invitation to both schools to come to our Green Summit next year."

The children presented some of their views on the environment, including how they want more trees to be planted in the city-region and for us all to do our bit to protect the planet.