A NEW car garage has opened in Weston which will help to train youngsters who have had a difficult start in life.

A NEW car garage has opened in Weston which will help to train youngsters who have had a difficult start in life.

Weston's MP John Penrose was present at its opening and pulled on some overalls and rolled up his sleeves alongside the town's mayor, Councillor John Ley-Morgan.

The new £20,000 workshop, in Winterstoke Road, is run by the Rathbone's charity, which has had a presence in the town since 1999.

Its aim is to reduce teenage unemployment by providing youngsters with a sense of direction.

Mr Penrose said: "This initiative is not just practical but inspirational too, providing a springboard for young people to become engaged in a trade and learn a whole life skill.

"The facility also has the potential to benefit the whole community, with plans to open the workshop to adults at evenings, weekends and in school holidays, offering self-help classes in basic car mechanics and maintenance to men and women alike."

Teenagers involved in the training programme will receive a mixture of formal education, life skills and work-based learning.