A NEW youth club will give Toothill teens somewhere to go of an evening – keeping them off the streets.

Becky Bondah already runs a weekly club for under-11s at Toothill Church. But she feared there was something missing for teenagers in the west Swindon community.

She hopes the new club, which will run every Monday evening at the Toothill community centre, will keep youngsters occupied in an area that according to government figures has higher-than-average poverty rates.

“I saw something in the paper about Toothill being one of the worst areas in Swindon in terms of poverty,” she told the Adver.

“I was talking about how we could do something for older children. I approached the West Swindon Parish Council, gave them a proposal of what I thought we could do. They said yes. It’s a space for young people to come every Monday during term time, 5pm to 7pm.”

Tim Makofu, a Toothill parish councillor, said: “These kids they need to be engaged. If we engage them that’s the best thing we can do.”

On offer at the free club will be bar games, arts-and-crafts and video-making classes, with the youngsters given the chance to film a This Country-style satirical series about growing up in Toothill.