HUDDERSFIELD media company Ruffneck Productions is taking its services to prisons.

Ruffneck, based in the Media Centre at Northumberland Street, offers training in radio, film, music and production to people from ethnic minorities and deprived backgrounds.

Now it it's helping prison inmates at HMP Northallerton in North Yorkshire.

Ruffneck will be doing a music showcase plus music and drama workshops at the prison on December 22.

Ruffneck director Fragrance Francique said: "We are thinking of taking our shows around prisons nationwide. It will be a bit different."

The company is also planning to take its music workshops into schools.

Two Huddersfield musicians who are members of Ruffneck will be conducting the workshops.

Clayton Brown - also known as dance hall artist Bongo Chilli - and Manny Allert - one half of soul duo Reason - will be teaching youngsters DJ skills and instrumental skills.

They will also talk about music history.

Thomas Danby College in Leeds and Wakefield College have signed up, but Ruffneck are hoping for plenty of interest from Kirklees schools.

As well as helping the community, Ruffneck is enjoying some commercial success.

It has been chosen to market an independent film called Shopner Desh - Dreamland - which has been made by Shah Lalon Amiri and Forhad Ali, from South Shields.

The film tells the story of two Bangladeshi men in Britain, one who rebels against his culture and chooses a life of drugs and crime and the other, who embraces both the English and Bangladeshi cultures happily.

Ruffneck is promoting the film with the aim of getting it shown at major festivals.

Fragrance Francique is also making a film of his own, called For Real.

It tells the story of four members of the black community living in West Yorkshire.

He is writing, producing and directing the feature. Filming starts in April.

Parts of it will be filmed in Huddersfield.

Ruffneck's busy schedule has contributed to the company winning the Rising Star Award from Huddersfield Business Generator.

HBG, backed by Huddersfield University and the European Regional Development Fund, awarded £100 to Ruffneck for being fastest growing business of 2003/4.