Success continues to bloom as Cliffe Castle Nursery enters its third year of helping people with learning disabilities.

The nursery and its shop is packed with customers on spring weekends and busy the rest of the week.

And its handicapped trainees are picking up confidence, new skills and the chance to find paid jobs.

WorkAble, Bradford council's work training service for disabled people, took over the nursery in 1998 with funding from Keighley's Single Regeneration Budget.

The nursery gives training and work experience in both horticulture and retail to around five people with physical or learning disabilities at a time.

Supervisor Madeline Mason aims for trainees to move on within about six months to employment, work placements or voluntary work. She must also build up enough business for the nursery to become self-sufficient by the time the SRB grant runs out next April.

Madeline says her trainees do not necessarily move into jobs in gardening or shopwork.

One was recruited by Keighley engineering firm Advanced Couplings after going along to do its gardening, and another makes sandwiches at Airedale Hospital.

She says: "Our main thing is to get people used to work ethics and working life - time-keeping, personal appearance, talking to other people, getting the job done. A lot come in her very shy but by the time they're ready for work they're more self-confident and their egos have been boosted."

Sne is now looking to the future and hopes by the end of summer to predict whether the nursery is on track to staying open next April.

She says: "We're doing very nicely working towards that aim but it's too early to say one way or the other".

Madeline says WorkAble will always welcome disabled people who might benefit from its training and work opportunities.

WorkAble can be contacted on 01274 752505.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.