TEENAGERS are showing off their graffiti skills after an eight-week project.

First Stop Darlington commissioned the graffiti art project as part of its youth outreach work.

About a dozen children took part in the sessions to design a piece of art.

Their work will go up indefinitely in the exhibition space at the Forum Music Centre from the end of the month.

The programme was started to give the youngsters something else to do on an evening.

First Stop had already organised a range of activities on a Wednesday night but wanted to increase the range on offer.

Youth worker Ashley Kay said: "It works quite effectively to use urban culture because it is something a lot of them want to engage with.

"If we did a landscape project, we wouldn't get a large turnout and they wouldn't commit to it."

The teenagers, aged 13-16, are from across the town and a variety of backgrounds.

First Stop is a drop-in for homeless and socially-excluded people, but has branched out to offer a variety of services.

Manager Karen Grundy said: "We are trying to get to these young people before they need help."