A take on the popular Tomb Raider computer game could be used to inspire Bradford youngsters to use libraries to broaden their knowledge.

Steve Manthorp, special projects officer for Bradford Council, has been awarded £32,000 to achieve his dreams of creating a video game with a social purpose.

The award has been made by the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) which gives grants to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional talent and originality, to give them the time, space, resources and support to develop their ideas and push the boundaries of knowledge and practice.

Mr Manthorp, 47, of Steeton, was among 16 winners who applied for the pilot funding project for the Yorkshire and the Humber region, and beat more than 350 applicants to secure the money with which he wants to develop his Tome Raider game.

He said: "I want to create video games with a social or community purpose and I am thinking of using the fact that children love computer games to get them interested in culture and changing the world.

"I want to develop a game called Tome Reader to encourage youngsters to use the library.

"The idea is to have to solve certain puzzles and chess problems along the way so that players have to access library resources to complete the game."

Recipients of NESTA funding do not have to meet any set targets and can use the money just to develop their skills.

Mr Manthorp said: "The NESTA funding is about developing ideas and exploring them, and about meeting other people who are interested in the same kind of things."

He has also been appointed as the co-ordinator of Digital North, an organisation that develops digital arts.

He said he would be using the funding to learn programming languages.

"I want to know how to model different computer environments so that when I commission them on behalf of other people I am better equipped to do so," he said.

"This kind of funding is very important to support real blue sky ideas. I would say that it is something that people should be looking at if they cannot find the researching funding for ideas."

For more information about NESTA visit www.nesta.org.uk