A NEW Stoke Prior youth scheme, set up by the police, the district council and the parish council, has been hailed a success by its organisers.

Bromsgrove district community safety constable PC Andy Holliday has helped set up the initiative with leisure team sports development worker Jon Miller.

PC Holliday said: "The scheme in Stoke Prior has only been going for six weeks but it's already attended by thirty young people each week on a Thursday night."

Now organisers are looking to expand the scheme, which is run from Stoke Prior Sports and Country Club, on Westonhall Road, and was started to give young people in the village something to do in the evenings.

The scheme has just taken another step forward after town superstore ASDA donated a wide-screen television.

Wayne Issacs, the Market Street store's manager, said: "ASDA stores always like to feel part of the community and get involved in local community initiatives. This scheme is one such initiative which is doing a great job of giving local youngsters something to do and keeping them occupied."

PC Holliday added: "It has been a tremendous success with the attendance being certainly more than we hoped for.

"Our next challenge as a partnership is to build on this early success and see if we can expand the scheme to another night and try and make it a long term success.

"We always welcome help from the community with schemes such as this and thank Asda for their kind donation, which will be well used by the young people." The scheme runs on Thursday nights from 7-9pm.