A youth project has been reborn after help from the local community.

Bridport Bandits Youth Motor Project has been running for 31 years, introducing young people to mechanics by building, racing, repairing and maintaining racing cars.

The project has gone on to place many of its members in jobs in the motor trade locally.

However, during the pandemic, the club couldn’t meet or fundraise, which left it in a bad way when things opened up with few members and very little money.

So, a call went out to previous volunteers who got together and began to re-build the club.

Students from Colfox School are the latest to be provided a mechanic’s course by the motor club, with the first group of students hosted at an event on Monday, December 11.

After a racing car was taken to Beaminster School to raise awareness of the club, previous chairman John Russell was asked by teacher Kevin Donovan if the Bandits would step in as the school’s mechanic training partnership with Yeovil College was withdrawn.

Newly retired mechanic and founding member and previous chairman of the Bandits, Adrian Kinchen, supported by Mr Russell, then started running the course on a voluntary basis.

Mr Russell said: “Realising that this was an ideal opportunity to further its aims, the Bandits agreed, and the first groups attended their workshop in Bridport after the summer holidays.

"Local estate agents Symonds & Sampson also offered to provide laptops to enable the use of an online mechanics program supplied by Weymouth College.

“Bandits, being self-funded and run by volunteers, has relied on the support of many local individuals and organisations over the years, some of which were represented at the event.

"Noticing rainwater on the floor of the classroom, John Clegg (Rotary) and Simon Hartley (Round Table) kindly proposed to split the cost of repairing the leaking roof, an offer that was gladly accepted.”

Bandits is open on Thursday evenings between 7pm and 9pm for young people between the ages of 12 to 18. The cost is £4 per evening.

The club is always looking for donations to fund its activities and volunteers to give a few hours a month to help deliver them.

Contact them on email: bridportbandits@gmail.com for more details.