learning opportunities in unusual subjects including flash animation, golf, manicure and literacy will be available to individuals across the North-East throughout September.

The ongoing Bite Size Intros campaign is running for a second time following the success of its first set of free courses in July.

With two-hour taster sessions designed to whet people's appetite for learning, the courses are giving adults across the country the chance to try new skills.

Hundreds of free courses are funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Tyne and Wear and other LSCs in the region.

Bite Size has been a success since its launch in 2001, with more than 50,000 adults nationwide taking advantage of the introductions to learning over the last year.

LSC Tyne and Wear executive director, Chris Roberts, said: "The aim of Bite Size is to make learning fun and increase people's confidence in their ability to learn.

"This year, even more emphasis is being placed on helping people get back into learning or to use Bite Size Intros as the first step to learning new skills and gaining qualifications."

Phone freephone 0800 138 5513 to find out about courses or book a free place.