A Lawkholme youth club has won £10,000 of Council cash to fund running costs and future projects.

Inspyre Youth provides informal drop-in activities twice a week at a community centre in Emily Street.

All the leaders are volunteers and are mostly adults who live in the surrounding area, including role models in their 20s.

The grant, from Keighley Area Committee, is designed to help members become “active citizens” in their neighbourhood.

The young people, who are aged from eight to 19, will carry out community work and help influence services provided by public bodies.

The first citizenship project will bring members together with elderly residents of sheltered housing in Emily Street.

The pensioners will teach gardening skills to the youngsters so they can build a community garden next to the community centre. The two age groups have already created links because Inspyre Youth meets in the centre attached to the pensioner flats, provided by housing trust Incommunities.

Inspyre Youth was set up by about a year ago by adults including Moin Uddin, a Connexions youth adviser who works in several local secondary schools.

There are now more than 40 boys and girls regularly attending, from Lawkholme, Eastwood, Showfield and Stockbridge.

Mr Uddin said the group was set up in response to complaints of anti-social behaviour by local youths.

He said: “One of the reasons they were getting involved in groups was that there were was nothing for them to do.

“Inspyre has had a big effect because they didn’t have anywhere to go before. They feel more comfortable with us – it’s people they know.

“One of our strong points is that we’re all volunteers. We’re local lads who have grown up here. Quite a few have gone out and become graduates.

“We want to inspire young people. We’ve done things with our lives and we want them to think about what they want to do with their lives.”

Mr Uddin said active citizenship was about getting young people to take ownership of their own community and get involved in something beneficial.

Councillor Zafar Ali, chairman of Keighley Area Committee, was impressed with Inspyre Youth during a recent visit and helped it gain the £10,000 grant.

The money – from Bradford Council’s Area Initiatives Fund – will pay for equipment, training such as child protection and youth work, CRB checks by volunteers and extra activities.

Inspyre Youth will host a celebration event at Victoria Hall on Thursday, March 10, so the local community and funding bodies can see what the young people have been doing.