A PROJECT which gives young people the skills to transform unwanted furniture for needy residents has won a £10,000 boost as it prepares to launch in Halton.

Project Up, run by Groundwork Cheshire, has received £ a £9,700 grant from Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority and Veolia Environmental Services Community Fund 2014 - 2015.

The Halton project aims to replicate Project Up’s success on the Wirral, where 80 per cent of young people taking part went on to find employment.

More than 100 items ‘upcycled’ by the newly-skilled volunteers were donated to residents in need.

Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) chairman Clr Graham Morgan said: “Project Up has already proved it can make a massive difference – not just to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill but in providing new opportunities for young people not in employment or education. That’s why we’re delighted to be supporting it again.”

Carl Beer, MRWA chief executive, said: “Project Up is a real success story and shows just how a modest investment can make a big difference to both individuals and whole communities. We wish them the best of luck replicating their success in Halton.”

The Halton project is among more than a dozen from across Halton and Merseyside which share in this year’s MRWA Community Fund pot of £180,000.