BE PREPARED to see more Scouts in the region this year - as the movement celebrated its biggest festival of the year with St George's Day parades.

BE PREPARED to see more Scouts in the region this year - as the movement celebrated its biggest festival of the year with St George's Day parades.

The popularity of scouting is on the increase with members enjoying a range of challenging and exciting activities.

With 15,000 new members joining nationwide in the last year, The Scout Association has seen the largest increase in demand from young people and volunteers for 22 years.

Membership has been steadily increasing since 2005. The biggest growth across the country has been in the 14-18 age range, which has seen a 6.5 per cent increase in members.

This has been attributed to the new activity programme which offers the opportunity to expand skills across a range of areas, including snowboarding and street sports.

John Mabb, Suffolk's county commissioner, said: “Scouts can do a whole manner of things, from the traditional camping and orienteering to street sports, and they relish the opportunity to take on a challenge.

The children are good at voting with their feet and Suffolk has outperformed the rest of the country for the last eight years.”

However, despite this record growth, more than 6,000 volunteers are still needed to meet the ongoing demand for Beaver, Cub, Scout and Scout Explorer places.

Peter Duncan, chief scout, said: “Our adult volunteers are what make scouting such a success and without them there would be no Scout groups.

“We try to make it as easy as possible for adults to volunteer, the hours are flexible and we let people get as involved as they want.

“Historically, scouting has helped to develop strong community ties, while providing an outlet for young people who need support outside their family and school environments.”