Life can be challenging, especially for children and young adults who don't have the opportunities, which can allow them to develop.

In a bid to address this, the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) provided £10,000 to run an outbound residential course, which enlists the help of five partner agencies.

Wild Camp works with young people aged 14-17 from across Powys.
The CSP – which includes the Youth Service, Dyfed Powys Police, Brecon Beacons National Park, Fire Service, Infantry Battle School, Senta, Sennybridge, and Powys Schools Nursing team – organised the nine-day event, which promotes outdoor activities to help the participants gain confidence, self-esteem and reward them for avoiding taking the crime and anti-social behaviour route.

The programme culminated in a fun-packed presentation, which was held on the final evening, at the Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells.

It included a talk from the Community Safety Partnership chief executive Graham Brown, Powys Chief Superintendent Gwyn Thomas and the region's fire chief Dick Fry.

Wild Camp is the idea of Brecon-based PC Andy Pole. Currently in its second year, this multi-agency effort provides the 30 young people with experiences, which are a total departure from their regular day-to-day life. Activities include: abseiling, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, discovering fire fighting techniques with the local fire brigade, survival demonstrations with the Army, workshops on testicular/breast cancer, film making and testing senses.

Andy Pole highlights that Wild Camp is unique, he said: "There are plenty of programmes around the UK that targets young offenders, but where Wild Camp differs is that it doesn't reward criminals, because we don't invite them. We specifically invite young adults who need guidance and support through challenging times, in what is a difficult part of their life – growing into adulthood."

In addition to cooking ration packs with the Army and living in the outdoors, the kids also had the opportunity to learn new skills and enhance the ones they already had. At the presentation evening, the children chatted about their experiences and highlighted how it helped.

This included improvements in their communication skills, confidence and understanding how their behaviour can impact on others.

Powys Chief Superintendent Gwyn Thomas also handed out certificates. He said: "Wild Camp brings together young people from diverse backgrounds who have never met before, and allows them to work together and reach a common goal.

"These 30 young individuals have achieved a lot and we should be proud.

"My call to councillors and decision makers in our county is that we must work hard with our young people because they are our future, and it is really important that we nurture them.

"I'm committed to work in partnership to make Powys safer and I'm passionate about the CSP – and this proves that if we collaborate we can achieve unlimited success throughout our county."

Highlighting his commitment, the Chief Superintendent said he would continue to develop this programme, and asked partners involved for further support and ideas to improve it.

But don't take just their word for it – here's what the 'Wild Campers' actually said.

Jade Gordon, 15, winner of the best female award, said: "The Wild Camp experience is so different from what I normally do as I took part in abseiling, kayaking and canoeing.

"The kayaking was particularly helpful because I tried it a few years ago with the Army Cadets and I had a panic attack.

"So this second attempt helped me to address my fears and overcome them. I would definitely recommend this scheme and would like to thank Andy Pole and his team for making it so memorable."

Becky Miles, 14, winner of Chief Superintendent's self development award, said: "I was hesitant at first but I soon got into the swing of it and realised how amazing Wild Camp is.

"I did loads of interesting activities, which helped me to understand how important discipline and team work is, especially for the future when I leave school. However, I won't be eating an Army ration food pack in a hurry!"

14-year-old Michael Young, said: "It was excellent! I learned many different things such as how to cook a ration pack and a range of water sports. Wild Camp has taught me the importance of teamwork and discipline. My concentration and behaviour has also improved, which is great."

Reece Campbell, 15, said: "Thanks to Andy Pole and all his staff – they were all brilliant. I really enjoyed the whole week and it has helped me in many ways. It has improved my confidence, communication skills and given me the opportunity to meet kids in a similar situation and share our experiences."