A COMMUNITY group for young people is celebrating after securing its services for the next year with a £3,000 charity grant.

The Pelton Fell Community Partnership, near Chester-le-Street, runs a wide variety of activities for children aged between seven and 12 years old during twice-weekly sessions at the Brockwell Centre on Craighead Road.

The sessions are designed to give the children the chance to have a go at various activities which might not otherwise be accessible to them, and covers topics from cooking, art and craft through to life skills advice and support.

The funding from Newcastle Building Society comes after concerns were raised that they service may no longer be able to continue.

Donna Brown, lead youth worker at Pelton Fell Community Association, said: “Our area is in the top 15 per cent in the UK in terms of deprivation, and a lot of the activities we offer are simply out of the financial reach for the families of the children who come along.

“As well as giving them something interesting to do and somewhere to go off the streets, our activities really help to build the children’s self-esteem and make them active members of the community.

“It gives them a real ownership of the sessions, and the enthusiasm they have for taking part shows how much they value their time here.”