THE COUNTDOWN to Red Nose Day has officially begun in Otley.

Pupils from Otley All Saints C of E Primary School donned funny noses, masks and head 'boppers' to help the town's Sainsbury's store mark the event.

Some fundraising events for Comic Relief are already underway across the country with this year's Red Nose Day and telethon taking place on Friday, March 24.

Sainsbury's, as one of the charity's main partners, is selling all kinds of merchandise for the cause while staff will also be organising fundraising events.

All Saints Primary, meanwhile, will be holding its own Red Nose Day activities too.

Year 6 Higher Level Teaching Assistant Linda Kelly said: "The children always look forward to Comic Relief and we will probably all be dressing up on the day at school for it."

The millions raised by the charity each year are used to support people in need in the UK and overseas - to find out how to get involved visit comicrelief.com .