MAGICIAN Paul Daniels is to teach tricks to inmates at a young offenders' institution.

He will speak to 25 inmates at Deerbolt, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, on Saturday.

Mr Daniels, who is on a tour of Teesdale village halls, was invited to speak to inmates by Deerbolt's head of skills for life, Maria Waddington.

He will talk about how he became a magician and entertain with tricks before speaking to them individually.

Ms Waddington said: "When I heard he was coming to the village halls, I thought it would be a good idea if he could come to speak to the lads.

"I am really pleased that he agreed to do it and the lads are really excited and looking forward to it. I try and get successful people in to talk to them and, in the past, we have had Anne Fine, Terry Deary and Kevin Whately. These are people who the lads would not normally be speaking to and it teaches them social skills."

The inmates belong to Ms Waddington's support group and receive one-to-one maths and English tuition. To become a volunteer at Deerbolt, call (01833) 633320.