Mosque leaders are to run a scheme to encourage Asian elders to get out more, which could include swims and saunas.

The project is aimed at boosting their confidence, improving their health and broadening their horizons, says Saleem Khan, of Bradford Council for Mosques.

The ten-week scheme should start early in the new year and will introduce elderly men and women to new experiences, including visits to swimming pools, saunas and trips to the Yorkshire Dales.

"The focus will be on health and we'll be looking at ten different ways of improving it," he said.

"Each week we'll have a different experience, whether it's going swimming or for a sauna, having a picnic down on our community allotments or going for a walk in the Dales.

"The aim will be to get them out and about more. While we respect their culture and their life routines, it's important to give older people the opportunity to discover more about their surroundings and make them more aware of what's out there."

The organisation has three allotments at Cecil Avenue and young offenders have already started work digging and weeding the overgrown sites as part of a probation service programme.

Mr Khan, a manager at the Council for Mosques, hopes there will be times when the young offenders will be able to work alongside some of the elderly people on the home-grown scheme.

"It would be good for both sides. The young people would see the type of people they sometimes take advantage of and the elderly people who fear crime would be able to see the 'normal' faces of the people behind those fears," he said.

"Many of the elderly people who will get involved in the pilot project will remember growing their own food in their fields in Pakistan. They have lots of experience at this and working on the allotment and our own small garden will bring back good memories for them and give them a reason to be out in the fresh air more.

"Going to the Dales is another experience that groups we have taken there before have loved. So many of them tell me that it reminds them of home. To see their smiles, their faces shining - it's very rewarding. Traditionally not many Asian families go to the Dales even though it's so close to us in Bradford - we have to prove to grandparents and parents that it's a safe environment first.

"You won't get families there until older relatives have experienced it first and given it their approval. By taking organised groups to the Dales from our centre we hope to encourage more families to eventually go their under their own steam - again it's a case of taking the mystery out of the unknown," said Mr Khan.