YOUTH services in Thornbury could be facing an overhaul to help keep teenagers off the streets.

Youth workers in the area have said they hope to expand the service currently offered to young people in the town.

Paul Godwin, area manager for South Gloucestershire Youth Services for the Severnvale, told a meeting of councillors and Thornbury residents last week that Thornbury Youth Centre could soon operate at weekends.

Thornbury Youth Centre, based at the Turnberrie's Community Centre, currently opens four nights a week Monday to Thursday, working with children and teenagers aged between 11 and 19.

Mr Godwin said: "We operate a programme for various age groups. There is issue-based work like drug education and sexual health and also social projects."

Despite the success of the youth centre during the week, people in Thornbury have long campaigned for the youth service to operate during weekends.

The issue was recently highlighted after another summer of late night anti-social behaviour at the Mundy Playing Fields.

David Tovey, from Thornbury Neighbourhood Watch, said: "Two years ago we raised that there was no youth provision on a Friday or during the weekend but two years on we haven’t moved forward."

However, Mr Godwin has now promised that the youth service has a commitment to provide provision during the weekend.

He said: "We want to work with the town council, the police and other organisations to provide some detached youth work in the Mundy Playing Fields and other areas in the town away from the youth centre.

"It would be a great shame to just swap the nights around. We have undertaken surveys and there is a need for the youth centre to remain operational Monday to Thursday.

"The answer isn’t to stop on a night and open on a Friday, we want to build on the capacity of the youth centre."

Mr Godwin said pilot schemes on weekend youth initiatives would be started in the new year.