Community action across Bradford is set to be kick-started by a dynamic new team.

The Integra Project, based in Manningham, is made up of eight young people in their 20s whose mission is to get involved with local communities.

So far the team has helped to organise the Windrush Festival to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first Afro-Caribbean immigrants to Britain, and is also helping young people smarten up a derelict tower block in Little Horton. Other workers are involved with Drugswatch, the No to Nasha Drugs education scheme and an anti-truancy initiative.

They are now urging other groups across the city to contact them to ask for help.

The Integra project has been made possible by European funding and will only be here for two years - so residents should take advantage of what it has to offer now, said Tracey Cook, 26, one of the workers.

"Communities have a wish list - we will work with them to apply for grants and fund raise. People can come to us with an idea for a project and we will work through it with them.

"The Integra project itself will end after two years, but we will leave a legacy. We will wind down our activities and local communities will take over, it's like passing the baton.

"We are particularly keen to get young people on board as there is a problem with youth crime in Bradford."

Integra is funded by the European Social Fund and is aimed at inner city regeneration, as well as providing valuable training for the young members of the team themselves. Some of the young people in the team have graduated from the former Bradford Youth Panel, an earlier European Commission project.

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