DEPRIVED children are being given the chance to host their own radio shows.

A scheme has been set up by East Lancashire Community Action Projects to teach children and teenagers from poor wards in Pendle how to run their own radio show.

The group will be going into schools in the borough and searching out children who they think will benefit from the scheme.

They will mainly be targeting children aged 10 years to 18 years, primarily from Whitefield, Walverden, Bradley and Brierfield wards.

Chosen children will have the chance to learn the skills they need to present a show, including preparation for a show, and pres-enting skills, during a six-week course. At the end of the course there will be the chance for children to get their own slot on Pendle Community Radio Station, where the scheme is being run.

The scheme, which is due to begin in June, has received £29,000 funding from Children in Need, which will go towards hiring someone to run the course to give 300 children the chance to learn about the world of radio broad-casting.

Sagheer Akhtar, manager for East Lancashire Community Action Projects, said: "We have been working with young people in the Pendle area for a number of years.

"We run Pendle Community Radio Station and last year we asked the children we were working with what kind of projects they would like to take part in, and they suggested this.

"We will be going into schools in the area and talking to children about what radio broadcasting involves, and seeking out people to get involved.

"There will be a number of six- week courses, which will comprise 45-minute slots in the evenings and weekends.

"The aim is to give children who would not normally get the oppor-tunity to experience life as a radio presenter, a taste of what it is like.

"It will hopefully improve their self-esteem and teach them new skills with the chance of them getting their own slot on the station at the end of the course."