A PIONEERING clinic for hyperactive children is to carry out a major experiment involving a North-East school.

If it succeeds, it could provide hope for thousands of children who are put on controversial amphatemine-based drugs, such as Ritalin.

Dr Dave Woodhouse, who runs the Cactus clinic at Teesside University, is convinced that food allergies and mineral deficiencies are probably responsible for making children hyperactive.

Cactus stands for Clinical and Counselling Treatment Units and has helped more than 80 hyperactive children since it was set up in 2000.

Because the clinic's approach is not recognised by the NHS, there is only a limited amount of private funding, so most parents have to pick up the £600 a time bill for a course of treatment.

Hundreds of families from all over Britain are interested, but cannot afford to send their children.

Rather than giving children powerful drugs to change behaviour, Dr Woodhouse and his team believe they can get results by changing a child's diet and through counselling.

After helping more than 60 hyperactive children, Dr Woodhouse believes it is now time to test their theories out in a school setting.

Children at the Middlesbrough junior school are to be tested for allergies to foods, including milk, wheat and yeast, and possible deficiencies of minerals, such as magnesium and selenium.

Only children who have been diagnosed as hyperactive will take part in the experiment.

If food allergies and mineral deficiencies are detected, children will be put on diets and given nutritional supplements.

The Cactus team will also work with children and their parents on how to improve behaviour through counselling.

The project, funded by the West Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Fund, is expected to involve up to 60 children.

The clinic first hit the headlines when its founder, the late Professor Steve Baldwin, went on the BBC's Panorama programme six years ago to strongly criticise the practice of giving amphetamine-based drugs to children.

His work was put on hold when he was killed in the Selby rail disaster in 2001, but his colleagues have taken up the challenge of keeping the clinic going.

Dr Woodhouse remains concerned at the increasing number of children being placed on drugs such as Ritalin.

"In 2004, there were 359,000 Ritalin prescriptions for children. Last year, that increased to 389,000," he said.