Two 'youth ambassadors' have been appointed in a bid to bridge the generation gap in Acle.

Parish councillors invited two Acle Academy students to attend their meetings, hoping young people can help them improve the village.

They were spurred into action when Acle Village Masterplan consultants told them they should 'close the gap' between old and young to enhance the community.

Year 10 students Ciara Simpson and Gus Blake, both 15, became Acle's youth ambassadors in March and have already got their first project - helping with the village's Anglia In Bloom efforts.

'It develops a link between the parish council and the school and we feel more like part of the community,' explained Gus.

Other ideas in the pipeline include a revamped village website, with sections specifically for young people.

'With the website idea we're thinking of including social media in it and that's for the younger generation,' added Gus, who lives in Thrigby. 'It could bring us closer together.'

Ciara and Gus are being supported by the school's youth working group, who feed students' ideas to them to be presented at parish council meetings.

Robbie Tate and Holly Vinall, both 15, are on the working group, and 15-year-old Annie Baldwin - who is the UK Youth Parliament representative for Broadland - is also helping to canvas ideas.

Tim Phillips, the school's headteacher, said: 'Acle Academy is committed to creating opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills and has flourishing year councils and a school council.

'We welcome this opportunity to strengthen our partnership with village representatives and to help our students understand a little more about the decision-making processes of local government.'

The decision to invite youth ambassadors to meetings was taken in January, and the first meeting they attended was in March.

It followed research as part of the Acle Village Masterplan by Cambridge based consultants Ingham Pinnock Associates.

The plan seeks to find ways of supporting and enhancing the village's economy and community through implementing 'small scale but tailored projects and initiatives'.