PUPILS from two local schools got their hands dirty during archaeological digs in Hanley Castle and Hanley Swan.

The digs had been organised by Hanleys’ Village Society to cast new light on the villages’ history and involved two groups picking through 12 trenches in back gardens.

Society secretary Malcolm Fare said: “It went very well. We will not know exactly what we have found until the archaeologists analyse them and report back. Every pit found some things, including bits of broken pottery, coins and glass-ware.

“The Hanley Castle High School pupils dug five pits around Hanley Castle and the pupils from Hanley Swan Primary dug one pit in Quakers Farm. They found, amazingly, the remains of what is thought to be an 18th century wall.”

A further archaeological dig is planned for next year.