A GARDENING project, used to help people overcome mental health issues, has inspired the creation of a new art scheme with the hope that it will show similar results.

The gardening project at Cross Lane Hospital in Scarborough was created to encourage patients in the Aykbourn unit to get involved in therapeutic activities and socialise.

After this success, the Crescent Arts group, a hub for mental health services on the North Yorkshire coast, created an opportunity for the unit to express themselves through art.

The project offered patients the chance to grow vegetables and flowers, with chickens later introduced as part of a joint project with the NHS and North Yorkshire County Council, monitored weekly by the council’s Support Time Recovery worker, Paula Boulton.

Paula said: “It is about getting social contact so people are not isolated- it definitely makes an impact on their well-being.”

The projects are not limited to the Aykbourn Unit and are open to everyone in the local community.

Elaine Hewitt, county council mental health manager, said: “There is a transition for people leaving the hospital, they have the option to come back and remain involved- it’s recovery-based.”