A flourishing Oxford charity, which keeps troubled youngsters off the streets by teaching them about cars and motorbikes, is searching for volunteers.

And plans are also afoot to build its first motorbike track.

Trax, based on Oxford's Osney Mead Industrial Estate, has secured a 10-year lease on Red Barn Farm in Wolvercote, a site owned by Merton College.

Project manager Tamsin Jones said the new home would enable the charity to increase the number of young people aged 13 to 21 it helps by 50 per cent.

She said: "Trax works with young people excluded or on the verge of exclusion from school.

"It started up about 16 years ago when there was lots of joyriding happening on the estates.

"It was a quick fix. We got young people off the streets and racing old bangers.

"Over the last eight years we've moved away from just helping youth offenders to any young person interested in mechanics.

"They also learn social skills, team building, literacy and numeracy and we help them get employment."

Red Barn Farm is four times the size of the charity's current home.

Ms Jones said: "It's a lot bigger, so we can work with more young people, and it's got the feel of the country- side.

"We want to open the new site to young people interested in gardening and outdoor pursuits. This is also the first time we've had our own motorbike track.

"At the moment we work with 500 young people a year - we are hoping to increase that to 750."

But there is still a great deal of work to be done and Tamsin and her team desperately need help.

She said: "We're looking for carpenters, decorators and gardeners.

"We've nearly finished converting an old cowshed into a workshop, but we have got to decorate the farmhouse and the garden needs tidying up. We also need help designing and building the motorbike track.

"If anyone can spare us a couple of hours or even a day or full week we would really appreciate it - we supply overalls, lunch and drinks."

For more information, or to volunteer, call 01865 243077.