A FORMER Selby mine site is to be used to steer youngsters away from a life of crime.

The £500,000 project on the former North Selby Mine site, at Escrick, will help to rehabilitate teenagers convicted of auto crime by teaching them basic car mechanic skills.

Under the supervision of the North Yorkshire youth offending team, they will also get the chance to learn to drive.

Course members, who will be bussed in and out of the old pit site, will also include youngsters identified by police for their antisocial behaviour or for being on the brink of committing crimes.

The woman behind the scheme is Detective Constable Jane Harrison, now working in the York and North Yorkshire Partnership unit developing crime reduction projects.

Based at Clifton Moor, DC Harrison has secured the backing of UK Coal chiefs, who have offered her workshops and offices at the former colliery site at a peppercorn rent.

She has also secured a large part of the £500,000 funding from the Coalfield Regeneration Trust and is now awaiting planning permission from City of York Council.

DC Harrison said the so-called Motor Vehicle Diversionary Project was the first in North Yorkshire, although similar schemes in other parts of the country had proved a big success in rehabilitating young offenders.

She said: "It's an exciting project aimed at keeping dozens of Selby area youngsters out of trouble.

"They will be working on old cars, developing basic mechanic skills and gaining qualifications such as NVQs.

"It will focus their energies into something a bit more exciting than sitting in front of a computer terminal.

"The facilities at North Selby Mine are ideal and UK Coal has been fantastic."

DC Harrison said they were also looking for volunteer workers, possibly mineworkers, to help teach the youngsters car mechanic skills.

She said: "People won't be able to drop in willy-nilly. It will be a closed project with a full-time project manager and two full-time assistants.

"We aren't looking at massive numbers of criminals and I can reassure the people of Escrick that it will be highly supervised."

Updated: 15:21 Tuesday, October 22, 2002