THOUSANDS of East Lancashire Girl Guides have taken part in a programme run by a fighter-jet manufacturer at the centre of several recent local protests.
BAE Systems, which maintains a major plant in Samlesbury, says that it created its 'Clever Cogs' programme in partnership with Girl Guiding North West with the aim of promoting an interest in engineering amongst girls and young women aged 5 to 24.
Since its launch in 2017 more than 23,000 girls and young women, around 3,000 of them from East Lancashire, have taken part in the programme which sees participants earn badges in return for completing engineering related tasks, with the most recent 'Making Waves' badge launched last week on June 23 to coincide with International Women in Engineering Day.