THOUSANDS of pounds has been injected in to local projects in Worcestershire to help them continue their good work.

Five local projects have benefitted from the latest round of grants from the Big Lottery Fund, with almost £400,000 being shared between five groups.

Worcestershire County Council received the biggest boost from the Reaching Communities grant, receiving £329,876 for its Healthy Care in Action project.

The aim of the project is to improve the health and wellbeing of looked after children and young and adult carers through participation in leisure activities.

The project works to reduce isolation and enable access to education, training, employment and opportunities to enhance life skills.

The project will now be opened up to more young people, including care leavers.

The Friends of the 5th Worcester Sea Scouts, based in Barbourne, received £10,000 to conduct a feasibility study to increase access to scout facilities and to expand the facilities.

Poolbrook Village Hall in Malvern received £9,895 which will help insulate the hall, encouraging more people to use the hall and saving energy.

Defford-cum-Besford C of E First School were handed £10,000 to spend on its outdoor learning zone.

The zone will be used during breaks and extracurricular activities and will include a play zone.

Near Evesham, Rous Lench Village Hall received £10,000 to carry out a kitchen refurbishment.

Lyn Cole, Big Lottery Fund, England director, said: “Families including our extended families help keep us together in our own communities, so it is great to see today so many projects across (region) working to bring generations together and providing support to families needing that extra bit of support during difficult times.”

For more information, visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.