A pioneering Keighley project that provides sports-related activities to keep youngsters out of trouble has received a funding boost.

Your Sporting Chance has been awarded a £16,000 grant by the charity Sported.

The cash will fund the continuation for two years of a successful programme working with young people, who are involved in, or at risk of being drawn into, anti-social behaviour and low-level crime.

All but one of the group involved in the initial project, which was funded by West Yorkshire Police and Incommunities and featured Cougars rugby league stars Brendon Rawlins and James Feather, stayed out of trouble.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Comm-issioner Mark Burns-Williamson, who visited the project at Cougar Park on Friday, said: “I am delighted this programme has been given funding to allow it to continue.

“I am committed to working with communities and organisations, such as Your Sporting Chance, to open up opportunities for young people that will put them on a path away from anti-social behaviour or crime. The police service has an important role in helping to achieve this.”

Mary Calvert, project manager at Your Sporting Chance, said: “The young people we work with have complex needs and are extremely vulnerable.

“The sad fact is that without early, non-time-limited intervention, most of these people will start offending and end up in the criminal justice system, impeding their life chances as a result.

“It’s vital we act early and give them the opportunity to break the cycle of offending and build a brighter future for themselves and their communities.”