YOUNGSTERS are to hold their own Groundforce day to clear the overgrown gardens of a resource centre.

The young people are all members of Millennium Volunteers, an organisation which aims to encourage people aged 16 to 24 to make a difference in their community.

They will help out at Northallerton's Valley Road resource centre for people with learning disabilities today. From 10am till 4pm, they will pick up litter, cut back undergrowth, prune bushes, dig out old plants and tidy up the grounds.

"It's quite a jungle," said Keeley Metcalfe, the MV project fieldworker, at Northallerton College. "The centre asked us to tidy them up and clear hard, slippery surfaces to make it safe for all to use."

MV co-ordinator Mary Dodman added: "We are not expecting Alan Titchmarsh or Charlie Dimmock, but we are hoping that MVs from across Hambleton and Richmondshire will come and help.

"Many are students with Saturday jobs but we're hoping they will drop in for an hour or two. There will be lots of cups of tea to help us keep warm, and lunch for those who come for the whole day."

Volunteers should bring gardening gloves and outdoor clothes.

A spokesman for the centre said: "We're delighted with this co-operation from the volunteers. Once the grounds are tidy, we will try to make them attractive so our clients can sit outside in the summer.