A community-minded group of teenagers who launched their own youth club are in line for a regional award, it emerged today.

SHOTLEY: A community-minded group of teenagers who launched their own youth club are in line for a regional award, it emerged today.

The Shotley Youth News Crew (SYNC), made up of nine youngsters from the Shotley area, has been nominated for a regional young people of the year award.

Members of SYNC worked with Babergh District Council and CSV Media Ipswich on a special film project, which led to their nomination.

One of the main aims of the project was to break the stereotypical view of young people in their community - the film also showed the lack of facilities for young people in the village.

The group was awarded with a �19,500 grant from Suffolk County Council in a bid to get their plans for a youth club off the ground.

Josh Ling, one of SYNC's founding members, said: “I am extremely proud to be part of this project and I know that when I move on to college, and even when I am too old for a youth group, I will have made a real difference in our village and will have been part of a completely new vision for young people in Shotley.”

Jill Barton, Babergh's community development officer, said: “The club is going from strength-to-strength with the original nine committee members becoming a 39-member-strong club.

“It is a real example of the community pulling together to give young people a safe place to meet in the evening - with around 12 to 14 adults volunteering from the village to help run the club.”

SYNC has also been successful in receiving funding from the Babergh Community Safety Partnership and is planning further fundraising events.

The excited youngsters will find out whether they have won the coveted first place position at a special awards ceremony on Sunday in Norwich.

Have you made a difference to your community? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk