Youngsters in Southampton will be able to try out street sports thanks to an £8,000 cash injection from the city's Primary Care Trust (PCT). The funding comes from a £50,000 pot which will help to deliver programmes that offer all young people five hours of exercise outside of school.

The Street Sports programme, which is being run by Southampton City Council's Sports Development Unit, provides 11-to-16-year-olds with a variety of sports and physical activities in their community, free of charge, with the aim of diverting energy away from anti-social behaviour.

The activities currently include BMX-ing, skakeboarding, street football, street hockey, basketball, cricket, volleyball and table tennis.

The programme will initially begin with two evening sessions a week, lasting 60 - 90 minutes in Thornhill, but will be rolled out across the city with the aim of offering eight session per week for 12 -15 young people.

Chair of Thornhill Community Health Group, Sandra Jordan, said: "Street Sports will enable many young people in Thornhill to try new activities they might not have had the opportunity to undertake before."

According to the council 20 per cent of young people attending schools in and around Thornhill would be interested in making street sports their main leisure pursuit if new activities could be provided for them.

The programme is due to begin mid-October 2008 and is expected to attract 4,500 young people in the next 12 months.