A TEAM of local youth volunteers provided some much appreciated voluntary work at Bridport Children’s Centre.

The group revamped the garden, repainted the fences and play house, and painted an underwater-themed mural on the wall of the café.

Twelve volunteers from West Dorset took part in the project, part of a national programme created by the National Citizen Service.

The project offers 16 and 17-year-olds the chance to meet new people, try new activities and contribute to their communities.

Charlie Phipps, from the Woodroffe School, said: “I found out about the programme from an NCS presentation at school.

“It’s given me the chance to try new activities and go outside my comfort zone, as well as give something back to the community.”

After spending the first week camping and rock climbing in Cornwall, they moved on to camping at Weymouth College.

Here they continued with team building exercises such as sailing and raft building, and also visited local community and public services.

The third week was spent planning the project, with them splitting into threes to brainstorm ideas for where to work in the community, pitching their ideas to the group in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style selection process.

Pete Jarvis, one of the NCS mentors, said: “The project is aimed at sparking an interest in young people in how they can give back and help their local community.

“They’ve all done really well and worked incredibly hard, throwing themselves into it.

“One of the main aims of the project is to show the youngsters that if they work hard they will reap the awards.

“They take away what they put in.”

Response to the volunteers’ work has been very positive, and a four-year-old visiting the centre has apparently already voiced his approval of the centre’s new look, with staff also full of praise.

“The volunteers have all been really enthusiastic and have worked ever so hard,” said outreach worker Elaine O’Connell.

“They came up with the ideas themselves. It’s refreshing to see youngsters who are willing to take the time to come and work to make a difference to their local community.

“We are incredibly grateful to them and would recommend them to anyone.”