A PROJECT which works with some of the district’s most troubled children has won an award for its pioneering work onboard a barge on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

The Joint Activities & Motor Education Service, also known as JAMES, won the Best Culture, Education and Learning Project Award at the Canal & River Trust’s awards ceremony to mark the bicentenary of the canal.

The group uses a beam boat, called Two Shires, which is moored in Shipley as a work boat for training exercises.

It helps the group promote how to use the canal, including operating the locks. It works with a number of school groups, organisations who work with elderly people and also the youngsters JAMES helps.

One of the smaller boats, Lady Jane, is used as a maintenance boat for volunteers to tidy up the three-mile stretch of the canal, which runs from Bingley Five Rise Locks to Shipley.

This includes grass cutting, litter-picking and making sure the canalside signs can be viewed clearly by visitors. It also runs other boats for festivals.

JAMES started with the aim to reduce the number of young people going into custody.

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For almost 30 years it has worked with ‘at risk’ young people and their families in the Bradford district.

Kevin Metcalfe, operations manager at JAMES, said: “It’s nice to be recognised for the work we do.

“The project especially encourages youngsters to participate in something that they might not otherwise.

“The project aims to educate people about the heritage and history of the canal as well.”