Brushes at the ready as Dacorum youngsters learn face painting skills

The youngsters – some of whom are members of Dacorum Youth Forum and are aged between 13 and 19 – were given a tutorial by experienced face painters Celia Ellis and Colleen Orton before being unleashed with sponges, brushes and colours to practise creating their own masterpieces.

The initiative came after face painting proved very popular at a community event back in April – so popular that children formed a very long queue.

With a tight budget, the council decided it couldn’t afford to pay for face painters, so came up with the idea of training up local youngsters to put their skills to good use at community events.

Active Communities lead officer Claire Lynch said: “We expect them to volunteer for two community events a year in exchange for the free lessons.

“If there’s lots of demand then we’ll think about running some more classes.”

Chloe Sibley-Morgan, 15, and Chetna Malhotra, 14, both from Boxmoor, said: “It’s a fun and creative way to help our community and we’re looking forward to helping out at future events.”