A Glasgow community radio station which has hundreds of young volunteers believes that they have been instrumental in reducing crime rates in the area.
St Paul's Youth Forum in the city's Provanmill has been giving young people a voice for over 20 years.
Operating as Bolt FM since 2001, the station aims to reduce crime rates by supporting youngsters and giving them the opportunity to work in a real-life radio studio.
And now team leader Neil Young believes their work has paid off helping to transform the North East community where they are based.
He said: “We reckon it’s the longest-running youth-led radio station in Scotland, managed by young people to ensure the content is what they want to put out.
"It is a project that has been instrumental in our reduction of youth crime in the area.
”We helped transform our community from a place where people were scared to go out at weekends to a place where your children can leave their bikes outside their houses and they are not even stolen.”
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The station is currently run by around 400 to 750 youngsters between the ages of four and 25.
They produce and present their own shows with help from Mr Young and his colleagues.
He added: “For me, it is a real privilege to walk beside the young people and see that they are able to unlock their potential. To be able to give them the opportunity to see how amazing they are.
“I think that young people in our part of the world are traditionally told that they are not going to amount to anything and prison is the only option.
“When kids graduate from our program, they are very able to go ahead to different college courses and apprenticeships.
“Because it’s radio, it works really well with people with image issues, you don’t have to have the latest sneakers and you don’t have to look a certain way.
"Young people are just able to do what they want to do and it also means that the confidence they are able to build up is massive."
The station is available to listen to online and covers topics that young people are interested in.
Thanks to their mobile studio, they are able to broadcast from all over the city as well as the Scottish Parliament, the Commonwealth Games, or even a sailing yacht coming down the Clyde.
For more on the station, click HERE
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