A YOUTH club has reopened following a £50,000 refurbishment.

The DJ Evans Youth Club, in Bowburn, was reopened by Durham County Council chairman Brian Myers on Monday.

The Burn Street facility, also known as Bowburn Youth Project, features a new office, kitchen and disabled toilets.

It also offers a games room, meeting area and sports hall..

A new gym was unveiled by 77-year-old Harry Cairns, formerly a youth worker in Bowburn, who has been weight lifting for six decades.

Coun Myers said the building was a truly excellent facility, which the people of Bowburn could rightly look upon with great pride.

Mike Syer, chairman of the Bowburn Youth Project management committee, said: "It’s great to see the place looking better - looking more welcoming."

Melissa Hinds, a 16-year-old who attends the youth club, said: "I can remember it being cold, no carpets on the floor, dirty couches and the paint falling off the walls. It really wasn’t a welcoming place to go.

"Since the refurbishment it’s changed a lot. It’s like a different youth club because it’s always bright and warm and all the equipment works. We enjoy coming here now."

The project started life in 1935 as Bowburn Boys’ Club. It was founded by Taff Evans, then headteacher of Bowburn School, after whom the centre was named.

Health and safety officials forced the club to close in 1992 but it reopened three months later.

Fundraising for a major refurbishment began in 2004.

Last year, grants arrived from Sherburn Hospital and the Big Lottery Fund. Durham County Council and Durham Police Authority have also been supportive; and young people have undertaken fundraising of their own.