PARENTS and children in deprived areas are to be given cookery lessons in a bid to encourage healthy eating.

The project, to mainly be run in Daneshouse and Stoneyholme areas of Burnley, is being launched after the East Lancashire Primary Care Trust received £200,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

Workshops for hundreds of families will be held in the community and schools to educate people about eating healthily on a budget - particularly on how to get their five portions of fruit and veg a day.

The scheme, due to start in October, will be co-ordinated through the PCT-run Chai Healthy Living Centre, in Hurtley Street.

Ann Crichton, centre manager at the Chai Centre, said that the money would be used to help people in the deprived surrounding area eat more healthily.

But she said they would also be "reaching out" to other areas to people of all ages and not just those with children.

She said: "We will be teaching people cooking skills and give people the opportunity to share ideas.

"We want to get people to eat seasonal food and local food, which is healthy and has not been transported thousands of miles to get them to each more fruit and vegetables without spending lots of money.

"This is great news for Burnley, and will help our efforts of encouraging people to live a healthier lifestyle.

"It will allow us to expand the good work being done and allow us to increase our range of activities."

Tim Mansfield, the PCT's head of multi-agency service development, welcomed the scheme and the lottery funding.

He said: "This reflects the work being done by our public health professionals out in the community.

"It will help us build on the work being done in Burnley to promote healthy eating and healthier lifestyles."

The grant from the Big Lottery Fund, which has been allocated to Burnley, is part of a £7m well-being programme' supporting 27 healthy living initiatives across the North West.