YOUNGSTERS from former pit villages around Durham are looking forward to an action-packed weekend in a forest.

The Task (Tremendous, Active, Social Kommittee) Group, supported by Education in the Community's Mid-Durham Projects Team, has organised a trip to Hamsterley Forest next month for 30 children.

They will take part in activities to improve their physical and mental health and to develop their team-building skills.

The Prince Bishops Shopping Centre, Durham, has given the Task Group £200 to buy food for the trip.

Group chairwoman Hayley Sheppard said: "Many of the youngsters come from isolated villages, single-parent families or from difficult financial backgrounds.

"So the weekend is an ideal opportunity to relieve some of their boredom and get them interacting with each other in a positive and exciting way.''

The group organised two weekends away last year, which proved so popular that it started raising funds for a third and approached the centre's management for help.

Centre manager Richard Toynbee said: "I am delighted we have been able to help such a worthy cause.

"We are always keen to further develop our relationship with the local community and essentially give something back to the people who have made the centre possible.

"The Task Group's idea is positive, beneficial and of real value to the local community, in particular youngsters living in and around Durham.''

The group is planning another trip for 20 children later next month, if it can raise the money for transport and accommodation.