HELEN Southworth has backed a new scheme to pay maintenance grants for more students.

The Government announced this week that one in three students will be eligible for the grants worth more than £2,700 a year.

She said: "I am delighted that even more young people in Warrington will now be eligible for financial assistance to help cover the costs of their degrees.

"It is really important that the opportunities presented by higher education are opened up to all those students who want to go to university or college, and these changes will help to ensure that financial barriers to education are removed."