More than 60 young people raised over £3,000 for Cambridgeshire charities by volunteering 1,800 hours of their time.

The money was raised as part of Cambridgeshire County Council’s National Citizenship Service programme, which saw those involved take part in a range of activities over four weeks.

The funds will go towards charities including YMCA Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Hand in Hand with Syria, Abbey People, East Anglian Air Ambulance, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and the Blue Cross.

A spokesman for the programme, which is run by the council’s Youth Support Service, said: “The young people overcame many personal challenges to complete the activities, which included abseiling, canoeing and team building exercises, as well as shopping, menu planning and cooking for themselves.

“They also completed first aid and food hygiene qualifications and received accreditation certificates for these courses at the graduation ceremony.

“The fist week was a residential course at outdoor centres and for the second week they lived independently away from home developing life skills. They spent the third at Parkside Fire Station in Cambridge developing a knowledge of the local community as well as planning and project management before for the final, fourth week where the group spent 30 hours delivering a social action initiative.

“The social action element of the summer programme saw the young people volunteering their own time to clear, paint and improve Abbey People’s Community Orchard; busking, bag packing and bake sales as well as organising a successful charity fund raising gig.

“This inclusive project involved young people from a wide range of backgrounds of varying abilities and was a huge success. Our partnership with the county’s special schools ensured that the project was open to all.”

After completing the programme the young volunteers graduated at a ceremony held at Impington Village College where each person received a certificate signed by Prime Minister Theresa May.