YOUTH projects in Burnley and Rossendale will share in a near £40,000 windfall from Lancashire County Council to keep them out of mischief during the summer holidays.

Campaigners at the Fraser Street Project in Burnley have been awarded £4,811 from the authority’s Local Initiative Fund towards their programme during the six-week break.

A Fraser Street official said: “It will bring young people together from different background, faiths and cultures to share these experiences building stronger relationships and communities.”

The funding round for the ‘third sector’ is now in its fourth year and county council bosses say it shows how productive links have been forged with charities and voluntary organisations.

The White Horse Project, at Edgeside, near Waterfoot, is another major beneficiary, where leaders will use £3,600 to fund a host of outings for Rossendale youngsters.

Already the group had secured £10,000 from the Awards for All scheme, from which a ‘Fun4Families’ activities’ roster is being funded across the valley.

Plans for a youth cafe at Woodlea Mission, home to Rossendale Vision, will also be progressed with a £2,168 handout, and Pendle Leisure Trust will use £5,000 for an after-school sports hub.

Other recipients include Ludus Dance, which will spend £4,156 on a social course targeting people with special educational needs and disabilities, Newground, a community interest company looking to invest £4,018 in a cross-generational project between younger people and OAPs.

And Turning Pages is looking to launch an eco-therapy project on donated land in Pendle and has been given £5,000, while housing agency Calico will spend £2,000 on workshops with Rossendale Financial Inclusion Project.

Lancashire Women’s Network will also collect nearly £9,800, through two bids made to the Burnley and Rossendale allocations, which will see them work with black and minority ethnic women in the two boroughs on building up skills profiles towards employment and volunteering opportunities.

Roy Jones, assistant county secretary, said: “The LIF Scheme is available to support new project costs and one-off activity costs only.”