City of York Council is hoping that a striking new livery on its Neighbourhood Services vehicles will encourage more people to come forward as foster carers.

The ads are on both sides of 26 vans from the fleet and form part of the authority's campaign to recruit a minimum of ten new foster carers, to care for vulnerable young people in York.

Mary McKelvey, from the council's Family Placement team, said: "There is a shortage of foster carers in York, particularly for young teenagers, and this means that some young people have to be cared for in placements outside the city.

"The vans travel acoss the city on a daily basis and we know that this type of advertising has worked well in the past. I hope that people will see the vans and at least give some thought to becoming a foster carer.Anyone interested can phone 555333 for an informal chat to see whether fostering might be for them."