A 25-year-old woman from Stowmarket has spoken of how she overcame difficulties in her life after falling in with the wrong crowd - and is now aiming to help other young people discover their potential.

A few years ago, Maddie King struggled with mainstream education and fell out with her friends at school.

Then she started hanging around with a new group of youngsters who would smoke weed, get drunk and stay out late.

Because of her bad decisions, Maddie ended up being kicked out of her parents' house and suspended from school.

The Prince’s Trust Team Programme organised by Inspire, a charity that supports young people to have a positive future, gave the girl much-needed support and provided accommodation.

In January 2015, Maddie started on the programme, which she calls “a turning point in her life”.

She said: “I remember walking into a room full of people and looking at each and every one of them and I felt so guilty and embarrassed to admit that I thought I was above everyone.

“Though the first week of pushing myself outside my comfort zone felt like torture, by the time the second week came around it was like a light had switched on inside me and I used the opportunity that was presented in front of me.

“I loved every moment of the team programme and cannot thank Inspire enough for the resilience they had, and the potential they saw in me that I failed to see in myself.”

Maddie said that she feels “very fortunate” that the charity “took a chance on her”.

The programme gave her an opportunity to move to London and start a new role in outdoor education.

Maddie said that moving to a new place was a “fresh start” for her and she “kept moving forward”.

She said: “Over the years, as I built my career, I came to realise mainstream teaching wasn’t for me and that I wanted to make a direct impact on young people.”

Maddie said that all the changes in her life would not be possible without Inspire charity, and she needed to “give something back”.

She said: “I love using my experience to inspire young people to change their direction, create opportunities, and become empowered to make positive choices in a time full of uncertainty.”

Maddie, who is now a youth development tutor, will be bringing Inspire’s programme to Bury St Edmunds on September 26.

The Prince’s Trust Team Programme will run for 12 weeks and supports people between the ages of 16-25 who are not in employment, education or training.

Various activities and projects aim to increase the confidence of young people, their motivation, and self-esteem whilst working as a team, learning effective communication and vital skills needed for work, which play a key part in helping to find a positive sustainable outcome.