IN THE five years that the Bridge Centre has stood in Birches Head, it has supported more members of the community than the volunteers who run it could ever have imagined.

The centre, which is run by The Potter's House church, offers activities for young and old and boasts facilities that are used by everyone from businesses to dance schools.

Senior pastor Phil Barber said: "We created the Bridge Centre as a place for the work of the church, but secondly as a centre for the wider community.

"It's a huge community project. We built enterprise units to create new jobs for the city, the centre's full of community activities and conference centres and we've got an extensive youth programme and activities for mums, toddlers and the older folk."

He estimates a couple of thousand people benefit from the centre's services and facilities every week – with more than 200 young people using the dance studios alone.

The £1 million centre offers a range of activities for young people including a youth club on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Kev Burrows, youth and community outreach worker, said: "Young people can come along and play snooker and pool, football or table tennis or they can play on the PlayStation 3.

"I also talk to them about not getting involved with drugs, being careful with alcohol and I talk about sex. I talk about relevant issues and link them to my faith."

Many dance classes are available, including cheerleading, and the centre's dance studio is used by the City Music and Performing Arts Service, Compas.

The Bridge Centre also provides professional counselling that covers a wide range of needs.

Another strand of the centre's support services is the I/D project.

Mr Barber said: "The I/D project helps young people with issues related to sexual health.

"We have a small team that we send into schools and nightclubs and have had a huge response from young girls."

The centre also offers 31 business units alongside an auditorium, a conference suite and meeting rooms, which are all available for hire.

Now volunteers at the centre have been nominated in the Community Group of the Year category in The Sentinel's Our Heroes awards, in recognition of their hard work.

Mums and toddlers can attend the centre's Little Bridges group while the more mature can visit Open House to enjoy a cup of tea and a game of indoor bowls.

The Potter's House church started off more 17 years ago holding services in a school classroom.

Mr Burrows said: " The centre has grown beyond our wildest dreams."

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Story filed in: Our Heroes | News