THIS year's Summer Slam has been hailed a huge success with a record number of youngsters taking part.

The Blackburn with Darwen Council-run extravaganza, designed to keep children occupied during the school holidays, has been running for the last two weeks and has included a whole host of activities from photography to poetry, sports activities to study skills.

More than 1,200 youngsters aged between 12 and 16 applied to take part this year -- more than double who applied when the scheme was introduced in 1999.

The scheme featured 100 free activities and was run by the council's education and lifelong learning department. Funded by the New Opportunities Fund and the Single Regeneration Budget, schools throughout Blackburn played host to the various events.

Coun Mahfooz Hussain, executive member for education and lifelong learning, said: "Not only does it give young people something to do in the school holidays but it also offers so many opportunities for them to learn something new or develop an interest."