TEENAGER Jared Kirby has spoken of how a charity has saved him from a life of drugs and prison after he took part in a Princes Trust scheme.

Jared, 19, from Grays, had been sent to prison for drugs-related offences when he saw a poster advertising the scheme.

He said: “I can honestly say it saved my life.”

The troubled teen had been in and out of care and had ended up homeless after a spell in a hostel.

Experimenting with drugs, starting with cannabis before moving on to cocaine, things became serious.

He said: “My life was really on a downhill spiral, so much so, I was sent to prison for three months. When I was released, I saw a poster about the Prince’s Trust scheme."

Jared applied to join the scheme. He said: “My advisers at the Princes Trust and the South Essex College’s business development team refused to give up on me and recommended the hospitality scheme.

“I did a three week work placement at Costa Coffee and loved every minute of it!

“Once I signed up, I had something to focus on, something to achieve and give me a reason not to go back to drugs.”

Jared finished the scheme in March and has been offered a part-time job at Costa Coffee in Lakeside.

He said: “I wanted to achieve something to make me realise I could be good at something and that’s what this did.”