SCOOTERS could soon be on offer to youngsters from the Richmondshire district struggling to get to work or college.

The district authority's green team yesterday backed an initiative dubbed Wheels 2 Work.

The authority's next full meeting will be asked to ratify the Local Agenda 21 Working Group's suggestion that it allocates an estimated £1,500 in partnership cash towards buying mopeds for distribution to those who need them most.

Each applicant will have to meet a list of criteria. They will need to be aged between 16 and 25, in need of training or employment, and be out of reach of the normal public transport network.

If the scheme is to get off the ground, then other agencies will also need to contribute towards an estimated total bill of about £18,000.

But, yesterday, the working group chairman, Councillor John Gill, was adamant that the potential was there to make a difference.

"The decision to support the project wasn't unanimous, and we have to accept it may not survive the full council meeting, but the majority felt this scheme could work. The case studies we were given made the point that there is certainly a need," he said.

However, the same meeting decided not to allocate cash to another project aimed at encouraging Richmond's shoppers to leave their cars at home. Cycle hods - small trailers which can be fitted to the back of a bicycle - are already available at Tescos, in Catterick Garrison, and the group was considering obtaining some to offer to the wider public.

However, members decided that Richmond's hilly terrain may count against the idea, and decided to shelve the scheme for now, although it will continue to monitor demand elsewhere in the area