Craig Bellamy took some time out from the busy training schedule to join a group of young girls at a sports project in east London.

The Wales captain visited a Bengali Women's Sports Project being run in conjunction with West Ham United Community Sports Trust. The scheme is designed to increase the participation of women and young girls in roles such as mentoring and leadership, which, in turn, will hopefully encourage them to become positive role models for their community.

"Organisations such as this are really trying to do something for the kids, especially after they finish school in the afternoon when there isn't that much for them to do," Bellamy said. "Something like this is very important and worthwhile and it is great to see and be part of."

On a chilly evening at the Mile End Football Stadium, the 29-year-old Bellamy joined coaches and youngsters taking part in skill sessions and mini-games. The striker took part in shooting and passing drills while, on the sidelines, another group of young women were taught how to encourage and teach the children new skills by West Ham's community staff.

West Ham United Community coach Rashid Abba was delighted to have Bellamy's support. He said: "Having a player like Craig here has given the scheme such a boost. Those here taking part have never seen a top professional sportsman such as Craig up this close or had the opportunity to play and work alongside someone like him. Everyone got such a lot out of this, which is the aim, and we were delighted with all what he did here. Craig took a full part in everything.

"At the end of the day, the aim is to create positive opportunities for these women to become role models in their communities and learn new skills. We have had fantastic response so far and hopefully we can continue to take this project to new levels and carry on with similar schemes for many more people."