Respect drive extended

A PIONEERING project which kept Hathershaw and Fitton Hill youths off the street has been extended.

“Respect” ran over the summer with the aim of clamping down on anti-social behaviour.

Members of the Youth Inclusion Project have secured funding from council organisation Kerrching and the West Oldham District Partnership.

The project started on Friday and runs every Friday from 8-10.30pm up until February, 2010.

It runs alternately between the Honeywell Centre car park and Villages Housing in Fir Croft Road on the Unity Radio bus.

There will be workshops on the double-deck bus in DJ-ing, MC-ing and lyric-writing as well as graffiti art and T-shirt design.

The fully-equipped bus gives teenagers access to recording systems and musical equipment as well as being staffed by professional DJs.

Over the summer months the Respect programme saw 180 young people get involved leading to a 63 per cent drop in incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Anna Forster, crime and community safety theme manager, said: “Thanks to the young people securing further funding, the Respect project will provide fun and exciting activities for their peers to get involved in, at times when young people really need them.”