THE PICTURESQUE churchyard of St Paul's in Cwmtillery has been made more accessible thanks to the work of Prince's Trust volunteers from the Ebbw Vale area.

Twelve young people were given the task of building steps in the steeply inclined churchyard as part of a 12-week course funded by £10,000 from the Corus subsidiary UK Steel Enterprise.

Father Peter King, curate of St Pauls, is delighted with the work. "We have a couple of hundred people a week visiting the churchyard to pay their respects.

"Many of them are elderly and because of the gradient it can be very difficult for them. "These new steps will be enormously helpful."

Aged between 16 and 25 the volunteers came from a variety of backgrounds.

Three of them were seconded from their modern apprenticeships with Corus.

Ian Williams, 18, from Rhymney, is an apprentice fitter at Corus' Port Talbot works.

He thinks the break from his normal routine at the giant works has been worthwhile.

"I've gained a sense of achievement from what we've been doing," he said.

"It has been hard work, and the weather has been cold, but it has been great fun."

Llanwern apprentice Daniel Young, from Brynmawr, is 22.

He said: "Working with the others has been the best thing. We have learnt how to get on with things and sort out problems as we go along."

Adam Williams, a 20-year-old apprentice at Port Talbot, also from Brynmawr, said: "When you see the steps and you know they'll be here for a long time, you feel you have done something useful."

The 12-week Prince's Trust course included a romp around the army assault course at Crickhowell and rock climbing and abseiling at Brecon.

The work at St Paul's was the community component of the course in which the volunteers work together to enhance a public facility.

As well as providing teamwork experience the course is aimed at helping young people achieve NVQs in key skills.

For many it has been an important step towards getting a job.

David Hughes, UK Steel Enterprise regional manager, said he was impressed by the work of The Prince's Trust.

"Their aims coincide with ours in many ways.

"The Prince's Trust helps young people get involved in the world of work, either through improving their employment potential, or by helping them launch businesses.

"UK Steel Enterprise exists to support the economy in steel areas and so we are delighted to offer our help."

One thousand young people in Wales pass through the volunteers' programme every year and the value of their work to the community has been assessed at £1 million per annum.

* Pictured with the volunteers at work in the churchyard are Father Peter King, left, Llian Hughes, with fork, and David Hughes, right, of UK Steel Enterprise.