FOR £500 a month Emma Porter has been toiling on the night shifts on a factory production line.

She has taken the work to free up 30 hours a week to volunteer in a school, gaining new skills and contacts in a bid to improve her long-term employment prospects.

She is one of a dedicated new bunch of 18 and 19-year-olds from East Lancashire's most deprived communities who have joined a pilot project to volunteer.

Controversially, the scheme covers expenses and pays the equivalent of job seekers allowance - £45 a week with a golden handshake cheque for £750 at the end of nine months 'volunteering'.

But the initiative, organised by the University of Central Lancashire and backed by the Department of Education and Skills, is being seen as a break through in getting teenagers more involved with the community - giving them a break to think of their future plans and getting them out of a spiral of decline. It is one of nine pilots in the country which has helped 18 young people to date.

Emma, of Swindon Street, Burnley, is now 20. She has been volunteering on the Youth Volunteer Challenge at Cherry Fold Primary in Greenock Street on one of Burnley's most deprived estates.

After integrating herself fully into school life, helping youngsters to write their names, teaching them games and learning a whole host of office skills, she now set her sights on joining the police force.

"At first my friends asked me why I wanted to volunteer but now they are all interested in what I have been doing," she said.

"I have learned so much and now have a lot more confidence. I can work with a team and the extra money will help a lot."

Ali Melling, project centre manager, said: "This scheme is about empowering young people to change their lives and change the community. Young people are the future and have all the ideas."

Another, volunteer, Abigail Thomasson, 19, of New Church Road, New Church, Rossendale said: "I have treated it like a gap year to give myself time to think about what to do and now I can go to Uni with my head up as I have already achieved something."

For the next wave of Young Volunteer Challenge projects with organisations such as Coldwell Activity Centre, Stacksteads Riverside Group, Pendleside Hospice and schools, there are 42 places. Call Angela Carson on 01772 894486.