Catching a film at the cinema or going for a pint with mates is, for most people, about as routine as it gets.

But not so for Craig Priestley, a reformed heroin user and jail inmate who is using his dark experiences to help other young people break free from drugs and achieve a 'normal' life.

The 21-year-old team leader at the Prince's Trust Volunteers, based at the YMCA in Dorset Street, Little Horton, relishes the normality of everyday activities and is determined to win over drug users and law breakers.

His dedication and work have won him an award from the Trust's national body after he beat 20 other team leaders in Yorkshire and Humberside.

He is now looking to recruit 15 people aged between 16 and 25 for a 12-week course which aims to improve key social and work skills and lead to NVQ and City and Guilds qualifications.

Craig, from East Bowling, said working as a team leader he could help people because he had been through so much himself.

He said: "I came out of prison in 1998. I had served 11-and-a-half months of a 22-month sentence for burglaries and thefts.

"It sounds strange but prison is probably the best place for a heroin user to give it up because it is much harder to come by.

"But when I came out I went back to it until one day I woke up and looked at my friends and some family around me.

"They were all on drugs and I just realised I didn't want to be like them anymore, I'd had enough."

He got in touch with the Prince's Trust and decided to give it a go, despite constant knocking from fellow users who said he had gone 'soft' for trying to end his sordid way of life.

"The programme was tough and at the beginning I was still having the occasional joint," said Craig.

"But I was lucky, I had some good people who were helping me and I didn't want to let them down.

"My team leader was Gareth Jeffries who had been seconded from West Yorkshire Police. I liked what he was doing at the Trust and after my 12 weeks were up decided I wanted to become a team leader."

That was in December 1998 and his training was funded by the Government's New Deal scheme, which aims to get people into work.

He admits to occasional thoughts about heroin but said constant comparisons between where he was a little over two years ago and what he has achieved since are enough to quickly brush away any temptations.

Roy Williams, YMCA's project manager at the Trust, said he had seen people in Craig's position try to change their situation, but few succeeded.

He said: "Most of them want to achieve what Craig has, but few have the staying power to go the full distance.

"His progress is rare and is a testament to what can be achieved, despite a tough home life and constant temptations to slip back into the old ways.

"He has to care for a younger brother and sister because his parents are divorced and has two more brothers in prison.

"Lots of his friends are still on drugs and yet he's fought free. It's a remarkable story."

For more information on the Prince's Trust Volunteers ring Craig or Roy on 01274 521119 or 07946 303537.

The next course starts on Monday, June 12, with a taster session at the YMCA on Thursday, June 8 from 1pm to 3pm.

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