YOUNG and disabled people facing social and economic exclusion in or around Exmoor National Park will be given the chance to become local 'champions' to promote the area to their peers.

The Campaign for National Parks has secured funding for a £748,000-plus project to help disadvantaged youngsters - particularly from the Minehead and Wiveliscombe areas - understand and enjoy Exmoor's special qualities.

The ambitious three-year project will fund the employment of a youth worker and a disability officer and see the recruitment of 30 young champions and a further 20 disabled champions.

Organisers say the scheme will also promote the national park to an additional 1,200 young people and 400 disabled people through the recruited champions.

Although a Big Lottery grant and contributions from other national parks and a number of trusts and foundations is expected to provide the lion's share of funding, the Exmoor National Park Authority has agreed to show its support with a £16,000 contribution from its partnership fund.

Members of the authority's discretionary budget sub-committee approved the grant at a meeting on Tuesday.

They were told that although following an initial trial on Exmoor and Dartmoor the youth element of the project will be rolled out to a further three national parks, Exmoor will be the sole national park trialing the model with disability groups.

Nina Arwitz from the Campaign for National Parks said the aims and objects of the project were to increase the skills, training and employability of the young people through one-to-one support and help them become more active citizens.

It would also provide opportunities for both young and disabled people to become more active in the outdoors natural environment through increasing their physical and mental health and well-being.

The appointed champions will be introduced to Exmoor through a series of taster events, ranging from horse riding and mountain bike sessions to learning about Exmoor's cultural history.

A national park spokesman said the project offered significant direct benefits to Exmoor for a relatively low cost, levering in significant additional benefits to the area.