YOUNG people in Worcester are being taught all the skills and techniques of true graffiti street art in one of a number of courses run by a local charity.

The graffiti project is about to start at Warndon Youth Centre and has already begun at Dines Green Youth Centre and Worcester City Youth Centre.

The six to eight-week course is taught by a graffiti artist known as Mark who was bitten by the bug when it first came over from America in 1982.

"I started when I was a kid and I taught myself," said Mark who now does freelance work designing sets for film, TV and events such as next month's Ledbury Poetry Festival.

"I did some of the backgrounds on Da Ali G Show on Channel 4 and some backgrounds in a video for the German equivalent of Hear'Say," he said.

Mark is currently working on a project in which a handful of artists from around the country create unique designs for T-shirts to promote the artist rather than being mass-produced.

As part of the course Mark teaches the young people how to use the spray cans and the different types of cap used for a different size of spray, including fat caps and banana caps.

Personality

"The kids create their own designs and put their own personality into them and then we plan the designs out," said Mark.

"I'll come up with a design and they'll tell me what they think and what they want to change."

Only after a number of planning stages will the design be transferred to large boards.

The graffiti project is one of a number of projects run by Worcester Action For Youth, a charity that provides activities in youth centres throughout the city.

"We focus on areas where there is not a lot of money about," said Lisa Whittaker, activity organiser and fund-raiser.

"We provide activities that ordinarily you would have to pay for.

"Our projects range from martial arts to juggling.

"In the juggling, for example, the young people are given demonstrations."

Other projects deal with sports in which students from University College Worcester help teach young people sports such football, hockey and netball.