A PROMISING bid for £7 million in lottery cash to boost the confidence of teenagers across Cumbria has failed.

It was hoped the funding could have been used to roll out the innovative Headstart project to all 10 to 16-year-olds in the county following successful pilots in Barrow and Carlisle.

But yesterday The Big Lottery Fund announced Cumbria was not among six areas nationwide to win a share of a total pot of £53 million to widen the scope of the project.

The news was greeted with disappointment by children's services bosses in the county who have confirmed they are now to seek 'alternative' funding options.

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John Macilwraith, corporate director for children’s services at Cumbria County Council, the organisation that submitted the bid, said: "This is very disappointing news.

"We knew from the start that only six of the 12 pilot areas would get through to the final phase of funding, but we were always hopeful that Cumbria would be one of them.

"Although disappointed, the work of HeadStart to date has ensured that prevention and early intervention is securely placed within Cumbria’s whole system approach to the emotional and mental wellbeing of children and young people.

"We are now planning how we can build on the learning and good practice from HeadStart and seeking alternative sources of funding to continue with elements of our proposal that were part of our longer term plan."

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HeadStart in Cumbria was launched last year thanks to a Big Lottery Grant of £900,000.

It was hoped the roll out of HeadStart to all schools in Cumbria would help alleviate pressure on the Tier 3 Camhs service which offers help for under 18s with moderate to severe mental health needs.