A UNIQUE scheme to support parents in Blackpool has been hailed a huge success -- by the people who use it.

The Positive Parenting project was set up two years ago by Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Community Health Trust to help parents with young children in the Foxhall and Talbot areas of Blackpool.

And in a recent survey every parent who answered it said the quality of their lives had improved dramatically as a result of the extra support from the scheme.

The scheme involves community nurses and nursery nurses visiting families in their homes to discuss the health and behaviour of the children and advise the best ways to play with them.

The survey, conducted by Central Lancashire University, gave various examples of mothers who had been helped by the project. One mother, whose child had behavioural problems, told researchers: "I used to get upset and felt isolated. But with the support from the team I've learned to handle her and she is much better."

Survey leader Karen Whittaker said a major factor in its success was in increasing the confidence of mothers.

She said: "The team were united in their determination to empower parents. Improve a mother's confidence, and it improves her interaction with her child and her ability to parent.

"Confidence can be hard to come by in these parts of Blackpool. Many families have moved away from their home network and hadn't the courage to go out and make new friends. Many hadn't grown up with supportive families themselves and the positive parenting team were all they had."

Team leaders have now extended the scheme to include a drop-in toddler club and a playgroup at Revoe school and there are plans to start a parent-craft course for teenage mums.