THE carnival came to town when a Bolton club celebrated the achievements of the town's youth.

Bolton Lads & Girls Club (BLGC) welcomed more than 250 patrons, supporters and partners to celebrate the its successes in the last year at the annual Patrons and Supporters Evening on Wednesday.

Welcomed by the club's very own 'Little Ant and Dec' - twins Brandon and Declan Thompson, aged 12 - the night was an opportunity to put the work of the club and its members accomplishments in the spotlight.

Chief executive, Karen Edwards OBE said: "It’s been a fabulous evening, the club is a special place and people do amazing things on our behalf, from marathons to rowing oceans to cycling the Dolomites and everything in-between and we are extremely grateful for their connection.

"In 2016/17 we had 120,00 visits by young people through our doors. We raised and invested £2.9 million in Bolton’s youngsters which allowed us to support 243 looked after children and mentor 175 young people. But we are only scratching the surface.

"Events like this help us spread the message that we want to reach more young people, with over 40,000 in the town there are still lots that may need us and we’ll make it our mission to find them."

BLGC was transformed in to a carnival themed atmosphere as guests with opening act of the night, Kai Flynn, a former mentee of its Mentoring Project, who performed on stage.

Guests also heard from Mrs Edwards and a number of young people who shared their experiences.

Dubbed a 'stand out highlight' of the evening was Corey Lester and Darren Knight, mentee and mentor who have been part of the Mentoring Project over the last 12 months.

Corey explained how having his Mentor Darren has given him "someone to talk to and spend time with."

Amongst the guests in attendance, Ann Rimmer of UPP B2B Marketing and proud Patron of BLGC, said: "I have been involved with the Club for a while now and it’s on evenings like this we get to really see the impact it has on the lives of young people.

"I couldn’t be prouder to be associated with the club and I commend them in all that they do!"

During the evening, guests were also treated to performances by the award winning dance group The Steppers and BLGC band The Others.

Other speakers on the night included current mentors, mentees and parents of young people.

BLGC head of fundraising, Shona Walsh added: "To see so many patrons and supporters come out and show their support has been really encouraging.

"The young people showed real bravery by sharing their stories with all our guests and we hope we can continue with our success in the year ahead."