An innovative driver training course which allows youngsters aged 10 and upwards to get behind the wheel is being launched in Chepstow next month.

The Young Driver course is said to reduce accident rates for newly-qualified drivers by more than half.

The new venue, at Chepstow Racecourse, will be the third in Wales.

An area of the racecourse will be transformed into a realistic road system on selected weekend dates - the first on Saturday 14th September.

The scheme already runs events at Newport Stadium, Pentwyn Park and Ride in Cardiff and Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.

Young Driver has already delivered over 740,000 lessons to young people aged 10 to 17 at more than 65 venues nationwide. Youngsters have lessons in dual controlled Vauxhall Corsas, with highly qualified approved driving instructors.

A special road system is created, with traffic signs, roundabouts and junctions.

The lessons encourage youngsters to consider how to drive responsibly, giving them time to perfect the necessary driving skills without the pressures of public roads.

Four hundred people are killed in accidents involving young drivers every year in the UK – one in five newly qualified drivers crashes within six months of passing their test, rising to 40 per cent of 17-year old males.

Only eight per cent of drivers are aged 17 – 24 yet they account for 30 per cent of people who are killed in cars every year.

But for those who have taken a Young Driver course, the rate of accidents in that first six months drops by more than a half, to fewer than one in 10.

Thirty or 60-minute lessons must be booked in advance. For more information, to book a lesson or to buy vouchers visit www.youngdriver.com or call 0844 371 9010.