A PROJECT to help young people improve their education prospects, train and find work has been an overwhelming success following a recruitment campaign in The Northern Echo.

More than 1,080 applications were received for staff posts offered by the initiative, called Kick Start.

This worked out at almost 21 applications for every post.

It is a record response received by the Government agency Connexions for any recruitment campaign.

The initiative, launched by Auf Wiedersehen Pet star Tim Healy this year, was to recruit 52 staff for the Kick Start team, a £9.7m project funded by Connexions Tees Valley and the European Social Fund, to help young people in some of the most deprived parts of the Tees Valley.

Kick Start was established to encourage and support young people into education, employment and training, and to develop a voluntary and community sector partnership to deliver services.

The project is being run by Tracy Elwin and will last for two years. It is expected to help 2,400 young people.

Ms Elwin said: "This recruitment campaign has been a massive undertaking, and I am very pleased that we now have a skilled and experienced Kick Start team working in communities across the Tees Valley.

"Kick Start has been designed to create opportunities for young people exclusively in the most deprived wards of the Tees Valley.

"It is a unique service, delivered through a network of voluntary and community organisations, that not only offers support to young people, but is also extended to their families and carers.

"Kick Start will be working intensively over the coming two years and will have a real impact on those it helps and their families."