Continue to give youngsters the chance to go for gold

Although not from Bolton, they were part of more than 200 young people from the North West to receive the award.

I was the Duke of Edinburgh coordinator for the Salford Youth Service until I retired two years ago. I started to work with these young people when they were 14, they are now 20. It has taken years of commitment to achieve Gold.

From walking the West Pennine Moors for Bronze to kayaking down the Thames for Gold; in between, for their Silver, they took part in the 50th anniversary of the award along with 80 other young people from Salford in walking part of the Pennine Way to Penrith and cycling from Penrith to Troon in Scotland.

From Troon they sailed on the Ocean Youth Trust boat, the Greater Manchester Challenge, to Ireland and the Isle of Man, finishing in Liverpool.

From Liverpool, the Gold group canoed to Worsley where they were met by the Deputy Mayor of Salford, and most of the young people who had taken part in the three-week expedition.

They took part in exchange with young people from Romania and Macedonia, completed a Sports Leadership Course and raised money for and all-weather playing area at the local youth centre.

Some of them took part in the 2008 Tall Ships Race sailing the Greater Manchester Challenge from Norway across the North Sea through the Caledonian Canal to Fort William in Scotland and receiving their competent crew certificates.

These young people are only a fraction of young people from all over the world that take part in the award; many of the participants would not be able to get the experience but for the support of the local authorities.

Take this away and young people will not be able to access these experiences.

I hope Bolton Council will think again and continue to support the Youth Service and schools to give future children the chance to experience the DofE Award programme.

Danny Bentham Windermere Avenue Little Lever