TEENAGE volunteer Laura Grievson has strong views about the yob culture, and feels it is wrong that all youngsters are tarred with the same brush.

Laura, 18, said: "The truth is that many young people are doing lots of good stuff in their local community, such as volunteering their time to help others through schemes such as the Youth Action Network and Millennium Volunteers."

She was speaking out as a survey released today reveals that nearly two-thirds of teenagers in the region feel they are unfairly given a bad image by the behaviour of a minority of hooligans, while 67 per cent thought teenagers were stereotyped by the clothes they wore.

Laura, from Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, has good reason to be proud of her achievements. A volunteer since the age of nine, she met the Queen last year after she won the youth action category in the regional Millennium Volunteer of the Year awards.

The Millennium Volunteers is a Government initiative to encourage young people to get involved in their communities.

Laura designed a poster for the mental health charity, Mind in County Durham, promoting a text messaging advice service for young people. She also volunteers with Age Concern, helping people learn skills.

She said: "Young people have the chance to put something positive back into society.

"Many people can feel intimidated by some groups of youngsters, but by getting involved in their community in a positive way, young people have the chance to change these views."

The poll, which questioned 500 teenagers in England, was part of continuing work by the Home Office to seek out ways to tackle anti-social behaviour and to help create a youth volunteering initiative that will harness the community spirit of young people.

Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said last night: "Young people in the North-East and around the country are fed up with being tarnished by the anti-social actions of a minority.

"It is promising to learn that the majority of our youth agree with the importance of contributing to their local community.

"Our young people have strong views for shaping their neighbourhoods in the future, and we need to encourage and support their involvement.

"The majority of young people in the North-East think it is important to contribute to their local community -87 per cent advocate getting involved in a positive way."