The Welsh Government is to give £1m to tackle youth offending in Gwent.

Lesley Griffiths, the Minister for Local Government and Government Business, unveiled a grant totalling almost £4.9m to slash youth offending across Wales on Monday.

The funding will help to break young people’s cycle of offending and create more cohesive communities.

The project will work with young people who have been arrested for the first time and for less serious offences and will be delivered with South Wales Police.

Gwent will receive the second biggest funding allocation behind North Wales.

Gwent Police Comment: Ms Griffiths said: “Committing crime is a cycle which is very difficult to get out of so preventing young people getting involved in the first place by dealing with the problems which could lead to offending, is a very important element of the Welsh Government’s approach to creating safer and more cohesive communities for all.”

The project will work by dealing with issues such as family problems, education, employment and training, drug and alcohol dependency, mental health, domestic violence and anger management.

Up to 600 children and young people a year could benefit from the project delivered through the Welsh Government's Youth Crime Prevention Fund, according to a Government spokesman.

Ms Griffiths helped to launch the project during a visit of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Youth Offending Teams Triage scheme in Cardiff on Monday.

North Wales will receive £1,008,116, Gwent £1,007,142, Cardiff and Vale £740,353, Dyfed Powys £697,360 and Cwm Tâf £481,887.