APPRENTICES from BAE Systems at Samlesbury had to pull out all the stops when they took on the challenge of refurbishing a property for the homeless young people's charity Nightsafe.

First they had to find companies willing to donate the raw materials and then they had to plan a work schedule to fit a new bathroom, landscape the garden and renovate a coal shed for storage.

And when the job was running behind schedule, they put out an SOS for support from their colleagues at Samlesbury to have everything finished on time. Nathan Profitt, the apprentice given the job of project manager, was delighted to complete the refit. "I hadn't realised how difficult it was going to be to negotiate the donations of materials and to provide the practical support," he said.

"It was a great development opportunity for me and I woukd encourage other BAE employees and indeed other businesses to participate in such projects."

The challenge was set by the Blackburn Partnerships as part of its programme of encouraging companies to work with charities and community groups.

The companies which supported the challenge with materials were Akzo Nobel Decorative Coatings, Travis Perkins, B&Q and Do-It-All.