SHIPPING containers which benefit young people in a Wrexham village have grabbed an assembly member's attention.

Residents in Coedpoeth have used the containers to serve as a safe base for the area's Youth and Play Project in Adwy Field and local assembly member Ken Skates and minister Huw Irranca-Davies paid a visit to the site.

Every Monday from 4pm-8pm during term times qualified staff work with a broad range of children and young people at this site, eliminating the need for age restrictions and facilitating more interactions between different ages of children.

Mike Barclay, Play Development Co-ordinator, said: "This started off as a holiday play scheme but our research has shown that supporting children is better if we have consistent relationships with them.

"It's about getting away from having age barriers on play schemes because you get younger kids who don't meet teenagers and can be scared of them.

"Due to funding cuts, there wasn't anywhere which children could call their own so one of the containers has been converted into a space that's theirs, but it also gives us shelter so we can work throughout the year.

"It's a model that can be replicated- it's affordable and do-able, even in the current financial climate."

The project was originally established as a pilot, funded through the core youth service budget, to develop a joined up approach to the delivery of playwork and youth work provision in local communities.

It also compliments and operates in association with a free and open access playscheme which runs from the same site in the school holidays, funded by the local community council.

In addition to the holiday playscheme, the local Community Council have now agreed to fund one half of the term-time sessions with the youth service continuing to fund the other half.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Minister for Children, Older People and Social Services, said: "This is exciting because it is a really good way to create both a play scheme and a youth provision.

"It is a cost effective way to create a place that people can call their own, supported by the play workers and also the Community Council.

"My role in visiting here was to see this grass roots ways of developing youth provision."