GIRLS from north Durham will become the first young females to break into a previously all-male sporting project this weekend.

The ten girls, aged between 11 and 13, from the Stanley area, will take part in a fishing project designed to prevent youngsters from drifting into crime.

The Tanfield Comprehensive School pupils are the first girls to take part in the police-organised scheme that has won national acclaim.

It was pioneered by Police Constable Mick Watson, and has been praised by senior officers across the country, as well as Durham County Council.

It is backed by the county's leading crime-fighting organisation, the Durham Agency Against Crime (DAAC).

Social crime prevention officer Mr Watson, himself an expert angler, said: "Of the girls who will be taking part, only a couple have fished before, but they all share an interest in the countryside and are keen to give angling a go.

"The scheme has a 100 per cent record on catching fish with no one who has taken part failing to catch at least one.

"However, the instructors are looking forward to the weekend because, interestingly, females tend to catch more fish than males, largely due to their concentration and determination."

More than 70 boys, between the ages of 11 and 15, have taken part in the scheme since its launch in April, and all but two are continuing to fish. Almost half of them fish every weekend.

The DAAC has helped Mr Watson raise a total of £80,000 to fund the crime prevention project. This weekend, the girls from Tanfield Comprehensive School will be fishing at Wadsworth Fishery, near Witton Park, in the west of the county