YOUTH workers have taken to the streets to help a town's teenagers.

The workers - four part-time and five full-time volunteers - have promised to be a "megaphone" for the views of young people in Northallerton. They are the first youth workers to go out on the streets and listen to the views of 13 to 19-year-olds since a similar scheme, the Pavement Project, ended about two years ago when National Lottery funding ran out.

The workers will make evening visits to areas where teenagers gather to listen to their concerns about a range of issues, including homelessness, health, alcohol, drugs and social problems.

"We also talk about complaints from older people about anti-social behaviour from what turns out to be a minority of teenagers," said team leader Keith Best.

"Generally speaking, Northallerton does not have anything like the scale of problems you find in many other towns and cities in the region. But we still have plenty to do towards one of our main aims - fostering mutual respect between young and older people."

One of the team's immediate objectives is to conduct a survey to identify the facilities young people need.

"Once we have that, hopefully by mid-February, we will have a clearer idea what the problems are and how to tackle them," said Mr Best.

"One problem seems to be lack of a secular youth centre - teenagers constantly tell us they have nowhere to go since flooding forced the closure of the youth centre in the town hall basement, and many are disappointed that the proposed skateboard park is taking so long to come on stream."

The team plans to get to know local youngsters and earn their trust, especially those who may not necessarily go to a youth centre.

The team also hopes to acquire a van to use as a mobile youth centre to to reach outlying villages.

The work is largely funded by the Hambleton Community Safety Partnership and the team is managed through Lifelong Learning and based at Northallerton College.