YOUNG people with time on their hands have built their own Army-style assault course out of junk.

James Mangle and Kevin Nicholson were inspired to build the obstacle course on Darlington's Firthmoor estate after a day trip to an Army recruitment centre in Gateshead.

The trip was arranged by play workers Liz Bennett and Paula Stainthorp after James expressed an interest in joining the Army.

The staff are funded by Barnardos and The Children's Fund. Part of their work involves accommodating the interests of young people, as opposed to adult-led activities.

Play worker Paula Stainthorp said: "It is great to see young people using their imagination and working together. The trip to Gateshead was great fun and its certainly had an impact."

James Mangle, the architect of the course, said: "There is a lot more for us to do these days, but even the play workers can't keep us busy all the time, so we have used a bit of initiative and made some fun for ourselves."

The materials the young people used were lying around behind the community centre.

The items consisted of old car tyres, bits of fencing and some garden debris. The young people timed each other to see who could get around the course quickest.