VINTAGE ballot boxes are to be given a new lease of life as instruments and sculptures to encourage youngsters to vote.

The decommissioned metal boxes will be used as part of Ryedale District Council's project to join forces with NYMAZ, a youth music organisation, and Helmsley Arts Centre.

They are giving young people the opportunity to re-use the voting equipment as musical instruments, sculptures and blank canvases, while at the same time talking about democracy and the importance of voting.

Simon Copley, democratic services manager, said: "This is far more exciting than just running a poster campaign and, because the project ends with a performance and an exhibition, there will be an opportunity for lots of Ryedale’s residents and visitors to see the work that the young people have created.

"Our ultimate aim is to ensure that everybody who is entitled to be is registered to vote and to increase participants’ likelihood of voting in the May 2015 elections.”

Billy Hickling, a musician and veteran cast member of Stomp, a percussion group that has had huge success in London’s West End, and Lyn Wait, a visual artist who has, for many years helped to stage Ryedale Festival’s Community Opera, will both be working on the project.

Heidi Johnson, director of NYMAZ, added: "We feel that art has an important relationship with democratic processes, with music in particular playing a significant role in political demonstrations and marches historically.

"We’re excited about the musical possibilities that the ballot boxes present. They can be struck with sticks, used as cymbals, filled to create shakers, and have their pitch altered through the use of water."

Workshops will run over the winter, ending with a performance and an exhibition at Ryedale Folk Museum’s Gallery from March until the May 2015 elections.