THE North-East branch of the UK's largest youth charity has reported record growth, helping more than 4,000 youngsters in the past year.

The Prince's Trust in the region, which helps youngsters aged from 14 to 30 into business and work, has announced growth of more than 100 per cent in three years.

A record 470 young North-East people were supported into business this year by the trust, whose patron is the Prince of Wales, compared with 350 three years ago.

Of the regions delivering trust programmes in the UK, the North-East had the highest growth in the number of new business start-ups.

The charity also reported huge growth on all other personal development programmes, including XL, a voluntary scheme to help students in their last years at school combat under-achievement, truancy and exclusion.

Other schemes include grants to buy tools and equipment for training and jobs, residential placements giving young people access to the music industry, work placements in Europe, and the volunteers' programme, which has seen a success rate rise of 26 per cent in the past year.

The project, which was piloted in County Durham, has grown to almost 100 XL clubs in 50 schools and the trust hopes to double the figure in the next two years.

Regional director David Beavis said: "The full business year from 2002 to 2003 was clearly our best year ever, and results proved to be considerably higher than target.

"We actually supported 4,407 young people against our target of 3,800, taking our growth to more than 100 per cent since the trust was regionalised three years ago.

"To help even more of the North-East's young people to succeed, and to continue the record growth, the North-East operation of The Prince's Trust will need to raise up to £3m a year."