South Yorkshire boxing star Kell Brook is putting his weight behind a safe driving package that educates youngsters about road risks. The Sheffield-born fighter visited the new Lifewise Centre in Hellaby on Monday 6 February with main sponsor, fire fighting equipment distributor, North Fire, who made the introduction to South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service. Kell was shown the Subaru Impreza and driving simulator, used as part of driving safety programmes run by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) and South Yorkshire Police (SYP) as members of the Safer Roads Partnership. 25 year-old Kell, who was convicted of a speeding offence as a young driver, said: “When young people get behind the wheel, or even get into a car with their friends, it’s really important that they know just how dangerous a car can be if it’s driven irresponsibly. “I know from personal experience about the temptation to drive fast, so the work the fire service and police are doing here is fantastic because it teaches youngsters from an early age about the consequences of reckless driving.” The Subaru vehicle, funded entirely by the Safer Roads Partnership, is used to educate up to 10,000 young people a year. It’s fitted with a plasma screen where youngsters can watch a driving safety DVD covering issues such as speeding, drink or drug driving, mobile phones and seatbelts. It is based at the Lifewise Centre, a life-size film set of a small town which is used to deliver fire, road and personal safety messages to thousands of schoolchildren every year. The centre is run jointly by South Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and the Safer Roads Partnership. Oliver North, MD of North Fire said: “The emergency services do a great deal of work to educate young people and sometimes having a figurehead such as Kell can help to get the message across. He was keen to get involved and we were delighted to make the introduction.”