Disaffected teenagers across the district are to be targeted by youth service workers thanks to Government funding worth a total of £6.4 million.

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes has announced the three-year windfall for Bradford as part of the Government's plans to target areas where young people are one step away from falling into crime.

Miss Hughes said she hoped the funding would help address youth workers' concerns that young people often cause problems on Friday and Saturday nights.

The funding will be made available to Bradford Council's youth service in the New Year to pay for projects of its choice, which could include new skate parks, basketball courts and music workshops. Youngsters throughout the district will also be given a chance to have their say on how some of it is spent.

Councillor John Cole, Bradford Council's district play champion, said: "I am delighted. We need to put play and associated activities back on the agenda. Young people really benefit from opportunities which give them the chance to engage with each other."

Although the funding will be targeted predominantly at 13 to 19-year-olds, a DCSF spokesman said money would be available "in exceptional cases" to support work with youngsters aged 11 to 13.

Coun Ralph Berry, Bradford Labour Group's education spokesman, said: "We need constructive activities which will reach out to young people and open further doors for them."

However, Coun David Ward, Bradford Liberal Democrat group's education spokesman, said funding should be targeted at young children aged 13 and below.

Coun Ward, chairman of Springfield Youth Centre's management board, said children needed to be engaged at an early age to prevent problems from occurring during their teenage years.

He said: "If you do not get children at a young age and work with them at youth centres you are storing up problems."

He said provision for youngsters at Springfield Youth Centre, based on the Thorpe Edge estate in Bradford, had had to be provided on a "voluntary basis" since Government funding was cut in 2002.

The announcement comes less than a month after the DCSF announced the district would receive more than £1 million to build new play areas. Bradford's Eccleshill Adventure Playground, which already provides children and teenagers aged eight to 19 with supervised access to outdoor activities, has received praise from young users since it opened in 2006.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We welcome initiatives that offer young people more recreational and educational opportunities that will reduce the chances of young people committing anti-social or criminal behaviour."