NEARLY £5m has been pledged to stop Merseyside teenagers becoming a "lost generation".

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the cash would provide a 'September guarantee' of a place in education and training for "every 16 and 17-year-old who wants one".

Around 1,500 extra places will be created, by handing education authorities in Merseyside and Cheshire about £4.8m - a slice of £13.8m allocated to the North West region

Mr Balls also released figures suggesting it was slowly winning the battle to persuade 16 and 17-year-olds to stay on in education or training, rather than hunt for a job.

In Liverpool, the proportion rose from 75% in 2001 to 86% in 2007, with similar rises in Knowsley (66% to 80%), Sefton (79% to 87%), St Helens (72% to 76%), Wirral (78% to 84%), Halton (73% to 79%) and Warrington (75% to 80%).

But the announcement was overshadowed by separate statistics revealing 18-year-olds are being hit hardest by the recession and surge in unemployment.

At the end of last year, 16.6% of 18 year olds in England were classified not in education, employment or training.