A WIDNES entrepreneur has set up a successful business thanks to the help of leading youth charity The Prince’s Trust.

The cause strives to give disadvantaged young people practical and financial support to stabilise their lives, develop self-esteem and skills for work.

After graduating from university with a degree in television production, Anthony Jones from Farnworth in Widnes struggled to gain employment when the recession hit.

The Job Centre pointed the 28-year-old towards The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme and with help from his business mentor he set up his own video production company AJ Media Productions.

Anthony added: “After being unemployed for about three months, I realised that if I wanted to create a sustainable place of employment, I would need to do it myself.

“The business simply would not have survived without the help of my mentor and what I learnt on the Enterprise programme.

“I was encouraged to focus on branding, investing and pricing which has really helped my business grow.”

Using the budgeting and investment techniques he gained on Enterprise, Anthony is now planning to expand his client base further, offer more services and invest in more specialist equipment.

Heather Peers, enterprise programme executive from The Prince’s Trust, said: “Setting up in business can be an escape route out of the dole queue for these young people – and a route to success.

“Like Anthony, many of the disadvantaged young people The Trust has helped through the enterprise programme have gone from joblessness to being their own boss and employing others too.

“Youth unemployment is a worrying issue and young people need all the support they can get to help them find work or indeed create their own jobs.”

For more information on The Prince’s Trust visit princes-trust.org.uk or call 0800 842842.