A TROUBLED youngster with a love of horses is looking forward to a new life after carers placed a magazine advert to find him a family.

The 11-year-old boy, known as 'Bobby', has been under the care of Blackburn with Darwen Council's social services department for the past seven years.

But several families from across the country stepped forward to offer him a home after a notice appeared in Farmers' Weekly on December 5.

The advertisement is due to re-appear in January, but the council said it had already had a good response.

Social workers took the unusual step of advertising for a family so that Bobby's love of horses could be kept alive.

Tom Calver, a spokesman for social services, said: "His love of horses goes back to his family background. Children in care are encouraged to have a hobby, which can be something they are already interested in or something new."

The council said Bobby has "special emotional and behavioural needs", which stem from being brought up in a dysfunctional family. Those needs were said to have been met by having Bobby around horses.

Now the families who replied to the advertisement, and any who reply to its second appearance, will be interviewed and assessed by the council.

Their homes will be visited so that the best possible foster family can be found for Bobby. After which an independent panel will decide which of the families are able to give him the best care.

Karen Wardle, a senior social worker, said: "Bobby has been in care for some years. He is a bright and intelligent boy but has emotional and behavioural needs that make him hard to place.

"He also has a love of horses that we've encouraged him to pursue while he's been in residential care. Riding and working with horses has a positive effect on his behaviour. That's why we're looking to place him somewhere where he can have contact with them.

"Social trends and lifestyle changes mean that there are fewer people coming forward to be foster carers, while childrens' needs are becoming more diverse. This means that we need to be more creative than ever in the way we find families.

"I'd already had success finding homes for hard to place children by using specific adverts that focus on the needs of the child but I wasn't sure where to advertise in this case. Farmers' Weekly was suggested by a current foster carer with a countryside background.

"There has been a positive response. After an initial screening, we'll be visiting people who contacted us to see if they can meet Bobby's needs. We are hoping to place him locally but the response so far has been from outside the area."Anyone interested should contact 0800 328 6919.