Young people from Dover who have turned their lives around with help from The Prince’s Trust will find out this week whether they have won an award.

The group, which has been nominated for an award at the youth charity’s annual ceremony which takes place this Thursday, worked on a community project in a disadvantaged area of Dover.

The group is one of three from across London and the south east shortlisted for the Morgan Stanley Community Impact Award at the Prince’s Trust and Samsung Celebrate Success Awards which take place at the Emirates Stadium and will be hosted by Kiss FM DJs Neev and AJ.

Idris Elba, who has previously presented an award at the ceremony’s national final, said: “The Celebrate Success awards show that with the right support – through organisations like The Prince’s Trust – it is possible to achieve your dreams. I am living proof of that.

“I left school at 16 with dreams of attending the National Youth Music Theatre but was disheartened when I realised how much it would cost. The Prince’s Trust gave me a £1,500 grant and, in doing that, they set me on the path that would eventually change my life.”

When 16 unemployed young people, all facing their own life barriers, began brainstorming ideas for a community project, they collectively decided to create something that would appeal to people of all ages.

They succeeded as the work they did will enhance the lives of residents in the St Radigund’s area of Dover for years to come.

Taking part in Team, a Prince’s Trust programme that gives unemployed young people the skills and confidence needed to move into work, they were determined to make a positive impact on their community and set about redeveloping the outdoor space at Triangles Community Centre at Poulton Close.

Carefully planning their week to ensure all their tasks were completed, the group fund-raised for materials, sourcing donated items wherever they could.

The Team repainted the community centre’s outdoor shipping containers, branding them smartly with the logo. They added interactive games such as a word search, noughts and crosses and snakes and ladders to encourage children to use the space in a positive way. And they cut the grass back for families to use for picnicking and playing games.

Making full use of a Team member’s previous experience in landscaping, they also overhauled the centre’s front garden, planting new plants, painting a fence and reinforcing and weatherproofing the benches, hoping to encourage more senior members of the community to enjoy the space.

Once that was complete, they focused their energies on the patio area, designing and installing an imaginative sensory garden. They re-laid the paving stones to include a hopscotch pattern and added birdfeeders and wind chimes.