YOUNG campaigners are being placed at the forefront of community cohesion efforts in Pendle in the latest phase of a £250,000 lottery-backed initiative.

One project by students at Marsden Heights Community College in Brierfield will see a team from the high school work closely with Inspire, the drugs rehabilitation service, to raise funds.

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And a separate bid by Colne Primet Academy will see pupils from the Dent Street school take people from different backgrounds on a culinary excursion around the world.

Each school had made it through to the final presentation stage of a competition hosted by Building Bridges Pendle, at Nelson Town Hall, for their Good Neighbours Project, which has been supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

And when they had given a full account of what they intended to the Building Bridges judges, including director Tahera Rehman, they were told that both bids were worthy of a £500 handout to develop their ideas further.

Rauf Bashir, project manager, said that the work was designed to bring people from different backgrounds, who may attend school together but not necessarily mix, to form new relationships.

He added: “It is important for us that a programme of community engagement is brought into the public domain to encourage better community relations.”

The Marsden Heights approach is around the theme of Drugbusters and will see them learn about how addiction management services are run locally.

Meanwhile the Colne Primet scheme has been dubbed Around The World In 20 Bites and will culminate in a smorgasbord of treats for invited guests.

Each of the two outfits will now receive mentoring assistance from their schools and experts from Building Bridges, which is based in Market Square, Nelson.

So far the Good Neighbours Project has worked with more than 200 students at 10 primary and four secondary schools in Pendle, as well as Nelson and Colne College, to promote greater integration between young people.

Not only does the Pendle area have longstanding links to South Asia but in recent years a significant number of families from Eastern Europe have relocated to the area, especially to Nelson.