When a group of young people got together to campaign for better services for youth mental health they had little idea of the distance their message would travel.

But We Will, comprising teenagers from Maryport and Cockermouth were heard first in their own towns, then nationally and now they are attracting attention across Europe and beyond.

Last weekend a German television reporter and crew came to interview We Will as part of a series that is being run on the German equivalent of the BBC, looking at what youth in Europe are doing to help themselves.

An Italian newspaper has been in touch and the group has also featured on a US web magazine dedicated to helping young people recovering from drug abuse or facing mental health issues.

We Will was born from a campaign to stop the removal of beds at Maryport Hospital.

Kate Whitmarsh, who heads the Ewanrigg Local Trust said: "Young people joined in the campaign. They discovered they had a voice and have been using it ever since.

"Youth mental health is so under-resourced and services so badly needed that they are doing what they can to help."

Workington MP Sue Hayman has also been supporting the group. She is trying to organise a visit to Westminster where they could talk to the appropriate politicians about the need to reduce waiting lists and give more priority to mental health among young people.

But while they areworking hard and recognise that what they are doing is important, they have been bemused by the reaction they are getting she said.

"I think it shows that youth mental health is not just a problem here," she said.

The German crew spent time with the young people talking to them and filming them on the harbour.

"There is another story here - the friendliness of Maryport people."

The crew visited a local pub for a meal and were immediately "adopted by local photographer Jan Fialkowski who took them under his wing and drove them around - even taking them back to Carlisle to catch a train," she said.