YOUNG people are being given a helping hand to stay on the straight and narrow.

A team has been formed to work with youngsters aged eight to 17 in Bury who are at risk of offending or anti-social behaviour.

Four youth inclusion and support panel officers (YISPO), part of Bury's Youth Offending Team (YOT), will assess and work with young people referred by various agencies, including police, schools and even parents.

Jane Wild, project manager, said: "YISPs gives us an opportunity to get in at the first signs that somebody might be going off the rails. We have great commitment from our partners to work together to nip crime in the bud."

Each YISPO will be backed by their own area panel of representatives from police, area boards, youth services, education, social services and health.

Inspector Steve Clark, of Ramsbottom and Tottington police, said: "Everyone of us can think of a person who, even at an early age, we thought of as being a prospective criminal.

"The YISP system gives the police and others the opportunity to identify those young people before they have acquired a police record and to provide them and their parents with some help to prevent the youngsters becoming criminals. The potential benefits of this relatively simple idea could be enormous."

YISP panels will meet regularly to consider referrals and then YISP officers will provide and oversee intervention work with the young people. This will normally take about three months and may include:

Helping young people develop ways to avoid crime

Supporting parents/carers in managing a child's behaviour

Assisting young people to take part in activities

Helping youngsters and their families to receive services

Supporting education, training or employment places.

The scheme is supported by the Children's Fund in Bury and officers will cover Ramsbottom, Tottington and Bury West, Bury East, Radcliffe and Whitefield, Unsworth and Prestwich.