A PROJECT set up to help people with drug addictions into employment and training is blooming.

Ground Level, an initiative funded by Stockton Renaissance through Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF), started in January.

It aims to train 30 people to remove barriers and prepare people to move closer to finding suitable jobs.

Ground Level aims to provide those taking part with an NVQ level one in horticulture, progressing through to level two, along with a recognised Basic Skill Qualification.

Those taking part in the scheme have been working on an allotment in Thornaby, near Stockton, as part of their training, and have just picked their first crop of vegetables.

The project is working closely in the community with residents from Victoria Community House.

Ground Level is one of four projects in the NRF Health and Worklessness package and is a joint project between Stockton Borough Council and drug addition help group Panic.

The fruit, vegetables and flowers will be distributed to residents within the NRF areas.

Councillor Bob Cook, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: "The project really has come on leaps and bounds since it started in January, and seeing how the plot has been prepared and seeds planted has been rewarding for all involved. There was certainly a fine crop of vegetables to show for their work."