Engineering workers became models for a day when they posed for a charity calendar.

Staff from Mott MacDonald in Brighton agreed to help create the official Rockinghorse Appeal calendar for 2002.

Each adopted a pose to reflect a theme for the month, such as enjoying a Christmas party for December and celebrating Valentine's Day in February.

The Rockinghorse Appeal raises money for the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children and the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

The Trevor Mann Unit is the only dedicated acute paediatric unit in the South-East.

Sue John, print room manager at Mott MacDonald, said the calendar had been developed for fun but the company was serious about raising money for the appeal.

She said: "It's one of our favourite charities, so we are really pleased to be able to help.

"Our calendar isn't like other charity calendars published recently as the models keep their clothes on.

"The nude variety has been rather overdone now, so we went for something different.

"We thought about the idea when we saw a fire brigade calendar last year and we thought it would be fun to do one of our own.

"At first, I think the guys thought I was joking but when I told them to get ready for the professional photographer who was doing the photo shoot, they realised I was serious.

"We went for various themes for each month and tried to get the right person for it.

"Stuart Wilson, for example, is Scottish so he was perfect for January and the New Year Hogmanay."

Other highlights include Graham Gurney re-enacting a well-known tennis pose for June and Mahendra Gunasekera taking on the guise of a devil for the Hallowe'en month of October.

Rockinghorse Appeal fund-raising manager Melanie Evans said: "We are delighted with the calendar and it is very professionally done.

"Nobody has done anything like this for us before and we think it is a great fund-raising idea."

The calendars, which cost £5, are available from the appeal office.

For more details, call 01273 730286.