TWELVE young people struggling to put their lives on track have been given the chance of a lifetime by an innovative housing project in Worcester.

This week the 16-25 year olds, deemed most needy by Worcester City Council, will be moving into these quality flats, renting them at a modest price in a new building at the former site of Bristol Street Motors in Bath Road.

The fully-furnished apartments, built by Droitwich-based Spa Housing association, are the kind of homes the dozen youngsters would usually only be able to dream of, with rental costs and house prices of conventional accommodation way beyond their range.

But this is not just cheap accommodation.

A live-in project worker will be on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to provide support and teach tenants life skills, from budgeting and household tasks to socialising and becoming part of the community.

"All of the young people have various needs, but our role is to enable them to live a valuable and enjoyable independent life," said project team worker, Alex Kear.

"To achieve this, as well as providing 'one-to-one' support, we also want to encourage as many social activities as possible.

Tenants, who may have been sleeping rough, have emotional problems or find it hard accessing training, education or employment, will also be helped to set up their homes, with a view to them finding their own properties within two years.

"With the issues facing young people of today none of these tasks will be easy," he said.

"However, it will be an extremely valuable and interesting experience for everyone involved."

The Housing Corporation provided £800,000 to build the flats and furnish them, while the four-strong project team's wages are paid by a Supporting People government grant.

Each flat costs £57 a week to rent, with a service charge of £37.

Spa Housing manager Jonathan Greenwood, who has run an equivalent project in Malvern for five years, said local residents who attended two recent open days had given their full support.

"I can understand if people have concerns about the people who live here, but we are taking normal, average teenagers, not those with specialist issues such as mental health problems or who are on probation.

"The aim is to get these youngsters to play a part in the wider community.