A POLICE officer, who went undercover to help a group of unemployed young people, has been nominated for a national award.

PC Beverley Gill, of Cleveland Police, worked with 11 young people to help them turn their backs on drugs and the dole, as part of a Prince's Trust initiative.

The young people, all in their 20s, attended a 12-week course run by PC Gill to help them improve their motivation, communication, team-building and tolerance.

During the course, funded by Teesside University, PC Gill kept her job a secret to ensure preconceived prejudices did not affect the young people's progress.

On Monday, members of the group received an achievement certificate at a ceremony at the Riverside Stadium.

PC Gill's work has so impressed the Prince's Trust that she has been nominated for one of their national awards.

She said: "It has been one of the most challenging aspects of my career so far.

"Nobody has put trust in these people before and this has changed their lives."

"They no longer take drugs, they have not been in trouble, and for the first time in their lives, they have got out of bed Monday to Friday to go somewhere."