ALMOST £110 million of cash seized from criminals has been invested in a project to help prevent young people being drawn into a life or crime.

Ministers announced the latest funding for the CashBack for Communities scheme,

which will see a further £18m for the initiative over the next three years.

Groups such as Impact Arts, the National Autistic Society and the Celtic FC Foundation have benefited – with more than two million activities provided over the last 11 years.

Announcing the funding, Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said: “We want every young person growing up in Scotland to have an equal chance of success no matter their circumstances.

“The numbers of children referred to the Children’s Reporter on offence grounds or prosecuted in the courts have fallen substantially over the last decade and our Cashback programme supports that progress.”