A project which sees children play video game Minecraft with their parents to get them off the streets has been given £75,000.

The artsdepot in High Road, North Finchley, will also use the money to tackle knife crime.

It was given to the theatre as part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Young Londoners Fund, which supports community organisations working with young people at risk of getting caught up in crime.

The money will deliver MINE, a programme which sees children and parents develop relationships through video game Minecraft.

Tim Burley, development director at the Arts Depot Trust Ltd said: “This programme is about really trying to transform young people from being in their rooms gaming to being able to spend time in the real world.

“We are going to engage people in a digital space and support them to integrate into a physical space.”

He says adolescent boys are more likely to play video games, and they are at a ‘vulnerable age’ and at risk of getting caught up in crime.

Mr Burley is also keen to use some of the money to get teenagers involved in theatre productions and workshops.

He said: “We want to find young people who might not be engaged in the type of stuff that we do and get them involved and participating in things.

“This will help benefit people’s confidence and self-esteem. We want to empower young people.

“By doing positive activities with young people we want to help them avoid lurking about on housing estates and getting involved in crime.”

The Arts Depot Trust Ltd is just one of 36 places to be receiving the latest funding from Mr Khan’s Young Londoners Fund.

He added: “As an organisation it will be really interesting to reach young people across all the borough and in different communities.

“For us it’s about reaching young people who we don’t normally reach.”