WEST Somerset teenagers learned that crime can pay at a special workshop that stretched their imagination to its limit.

Rachel Ward - author of the teen fiction trilogy Numbers - passed on some tips about crime fiction when she led creative writing workshops for 60 year nine students at the West Somerset Community College.

And after stepping into the shoes of suspects, witnesses and informants to discover how a jewellery thief might feel before a heist or a criminal before a judge, the students learned that creative writing was not a crime and that crime writing is creative.

College English teacher Holly Sum said: "After hearing about Rachel's own inspiration and experiences as an author our students were ready to get their own inspirations and embark on new writing themselves.

"Two hours of preparing newspaper stories on crime, gathering ideas and starting their own crime fiction pieces really showed how creative our students can be - and in some cases, how criminal and devious our imaginations can be."

The workshops were a follow up to the national World Book Day and a celebration of the written word.

"The students created unique work that all of them will remember, cherish and potentially use in their future pieces of writing," said Ms Sum.

Photo: Steve Quantick