WHEN it comes to spending £1,000, members of a youth group in Yarm have found it can be difficult.

Conyers Youth Group won Royal Mail and Cleveland Police's Youth Against Crime event last year, and wanted to reinvest the prize money in a community project.

The group asked for help from BBC's Groundforce team, but unfortunately could not attract their attention.

Ruth Owen Hughes, senior youth worker, said: "The team won the award by running a project which aimed to connect young people with older residents in Yarm, reassuring the older generation that young people are not always anti-social, and finding out about the needs of both age groups.

"We met with residents at Highfield Residential Home, in Yarm, on a regular basis, both formally and socially. The team was delighted to win the prize and wanted to use the money to develop a garden area in the nursing home."

The youngsters' ideas included a water feature with slopes and a fish pond, exterior lighting, a barbecue area with seating and sheltering, and a mystical feature with wind-chimes.

Most members of the group are now going on to do other things, and have commitments such as exams, so they have decided to hand over the money to the home to allow it to spend it as it needs.

Lynn Jackson, the manager and matron at Highfield, said: "We were really pleased with the work these young people undertook, and their idea for spending the prize was most welcome.

"However, we don't really have the expertise here to develop things so unless we get some expert help, we'll just use it for general work at the home."