A MOCK pop video shoot has taken place in Darlington in a bid to give young people positive aspirations for their future.

Connexions Tees Valley used actors in Wednesday's spoof video shoot in the Market Square to get youngsters interested in its Kick Start initiative.

The aim was to attract young people by letting them believe a pop video was being filmed, when in reality the actors were there to explain how Kick Start works.

The actors played the roles of director, producer and a pop group, and jokingly highlighted the creative differences between the video producer and director.

Kick Start is a £9.7m initiative by Connexions Tees Valley designed to support young people in education, employment or training.

A team of professional performers from the Gallery Theatre have been hard at work preparing for the video shoot, which will be shown around the Tees Valley area this week.