Blackburn Rovers star helps tackle youth crime

4:40pm Monday 28th April 2008

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A BLACKBURN Rovers star has helped keep young offenders on the straight and narrow - by getting them involved in football coaching for children.

Full back Brett Emerton visited Hindley Young Offenders Institution near Wigan as part of a Prince's Trust programme aimed at tackling youth crime.

And he was on hand as offenders put on coaching sessions for boys and girls from Lammack Juniors Football Club, Blackburn.

Also taking part were Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and Bolton Wanderers striker Kevin Davies, who used to play from Rovers.

The Prince's Trust event was the launch of a scheme run in prisons by Premier League clubs to tackle re-offending.

The week-long initiative sees the clubs go into prison and work with young offenders on coaching programmes.

Nigel Dixon, the chairman of Lammack Juniors, said the club had enjoyed working with the Prince's Trust and helping out in the scheme.

Thirty youngsters aged between seven and 13-years-old were coached by youngsters at Hindley and were then given the chance to meet the three Premier League stars at the culmination of the event.

Mr Dixon said: "It is a good experience going into a prison and the children learnt a lot. What the Prince's Trust is doing is extremely positive and we are happy to be a part of that and support their work.

"From the club's point of view it was great meeting and playing football with the likes of Emerton, Kirkland and Davies.

"A lot of our players are Rovers fans and it was great for them to have the opportunity to train with a current member of the team.

"A few were even boasting that they scored past Chris Kirkland, who is an England international."

A spokesman for the Prince's Trust said the prison initiative aims to help young offenders learn key workplace skills such as confidence, motivation and teamwork through football.

He said it engages inmates towards the end of their prison sentence in a bid to stop young offenders returning to a life of crime.

Over the last 12 months, four young people completing Prince's Trust courses have coached with Lammack Juniors Football Club. All four who were previously unemployed have since secured full time educational placements or jobs.

Lammack Juniors has an established partnership with The Prince's Trust and in the past has taken part in similar sessions at Style Prison in Wilmslow, Cheshire.