A national Lottery bid has been launched to buy three mobile anti-drugs classrooms.

And the Oxford Mail has joined with the Rotary Club to launch the campaign to equip Oxfordshire with its own Life Education Centre.

Each mobile classroom will be staffed by a skilled educator and tour primary schools around the county, offering a structured programme designed to encourage children to make healthy choices about their future.

Each centre costs £64,000 to buy and £36,000 to run yearly.

Since the Oxford Mail launched the campaign, nearly £30,000 has been raised towards the first classroom and many promises have been received for further funds. Now the National Lottery bid, for £160,000, has been submitted for the three classrooms. Each classroom would visit 12,000 primary schoolchildren every year.

Robert Lidstone, chairman of Life Education Centres Oxfordshire Ltd, said: "This is about co-ordinating a community response. It's not throwing money into a bottomless pit. It's trying to get at our young children before they've had stuff offered to them rather than picking up the pieces afterwards."

To support the project, contact Michael Pooley on 01491 628284.

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