A SCHEME to bring advice and support into the community in mobile "Pods" is being expanded in Darlington.

The first Pod scheme - in North Park, Darlington - was a mobile unit that provided a safe environment for young people to obtain help and advice.

It also contained painting projects, board games and quizzes and was used during the summer to help tackle youth crime and incidents of anti-social behaviour.

The scheme proved highly successful, with 450 young people a week visiting the unit. So Darlington Borough Council is now providing a second Pod, for adults this time, in the Lascelles area of Darlington.

Instead of visiting the town hall for advice on housing issues and other problems, people in the area can visit the Pod, which will be open in the afternoons from next Monday.

The timetable will consist of general information sessions, with Citizens Advice Bureau staff available to answer questions, discussions about anti-social behaviour problems, and surgeries with local police and uniformed wardens to discuss crime issues.

A council spokesman said: "There will be a whole range of things on offer. We aim to do a leaflet drop in the area, letting people know where it is going to be and what the timetable will be.

"It is the first time we have taken this type of approach. The idea is to save people coming to the town hall with housing issues, etc, so we are going out into the community. The first Pod was very successful."

Councillor Bill Dixon said: "The first Pod was a tremendous success in North Park. This project will give us the opportunity to take a manned community centre to Lascelles, so people can visit us locally to see what is on offer and they can find out how we can help them."

The first Pod contained sports facilities, PlayStations and televisions and was fully supervised.

The new Pod is expected to be open from 3pm to 5pm.