HUNDREDS of young people are to benefit from a £250,000 initiative to help them set up their own businesses.

The project, funded by Yorkshire Forward, has already helped 20 young people establish businesses in the Yorkshire Dales.

Now the project, run by the Prince's Trust, is to be extended as part of Yorkshire Forward's programme to help develop a diverse and sustainable rural economy.

The money will be spent to help establish project managers in four additional rural areas across the region.

The initiative has been accelerated through money provided from the Foot and Mouth Economic Recovery Fund, totalling £4m, announced by Yorkshire Forward in August.

It will enable the Prince's Trust in Yorkshire and Humberside to offer better business advice and start up services to hundreds of young people in more rural areas.

The aim is to encourage young people to grow businesses in rural areas rather than seeking work elsewhere.

Heather Hancock, Yorkshire Forward's environment director, said it was vital that measures to tackle the economic impact of foot-and-mouth and move towards a sustainable future for rural areas were brought forward.