A BUS service offering advice to Darlington youngsters has increased its service during the school summer holidays.

Thanks to funding from the community safety group, the youth offending team and police, Blitz Bus 2 is extending its service to operate seven nights a week.

The bus will be operating for an extra half-an-hour each night and will be at its designated stops between 7pm and 10pm.

The bus will be operating during the six weeks that schools are closed, and the service will visit additional areas of the town, including the Mowden and Eastbourne areas.

Keith Dillon of the Blitz Bus Support Group, said: We ran the bus for four weeks last year."

The service is designed to be a meeting place for people aged 11 to 25, where they can easily get advice on sexual health, drugs, debt and welfare.

The council-run scheme started in September 1999. It serves about 9,000 young people in Darlington each year.

Anyone requiring further information can find out about the Blitz Bus on the Internet at www.blitzbus.co.uk.