Members of the Liskeard and Looe Youth Project have just returned from a week-long trip to Israel where they trained as medical clowns before using their new-found talents to entertain sick children at a hospital in Tel Aviv.

Matt Benney, Zak Yeates, Josh Treviathan, Jack Hart and David Glover joined young people from Turkey and Slovenia in Israel where they took part in a crash-course in medical clowning run by the Israeli 'Smile Factory' programme. The Cornish group was accompanied by Glen Moussalli, from Youth Cornwall.

Medical clowning has been found to help children in recovery from disease and in dealing with illness, with hospitals in many countries now using clowning as a form of therapy.

The Cornish group took part in a series of professional workshops and peer learning sessions to gain the necessary skills before touring a children's ward in the Amerson Hospital in Tel Aviv where they told the children stories, made them laugh, blew up balloons, applied make-up and played with them.

The visit certainly proved to be an amazing experience for the five youngsters.

'It truly was a life-changing experience,' said group leader Glen Moussalli. 'On the plane home everyone was saying it was the best time of their lives.'