YOUNG people living in isolated areas of West Devon will benefit from a new £185,000 grant to keep an innovative wheels project on the road.
The Getting There project, run by the charity West DEN, loans scooters to young people aged 16-25 and also provides advice, tailor-made transport solutions such as electric bicycles and bikes for people with disabilities, and subsidised driving lessons.
Funding for the current project runs out at the end of this month, but a new Community Fund grant of £185, 525 means the project can continue to develop and help more young people in the area.
At present the project has nine scooters on six-month loan to young people, but the new Community Fund grant and a grant of £55,000 from the Countryside Agency means the project will be able to buy an extra 30 economical scooters and can now offer a service to young people on the Cornwall side of the Tamar Valley.
Getting There project manager Max Jowett said this was 'fantastic news'.
'These two grants mean we can offer this vital service to many more young people in our area. Getting There has already made a real difference to the lives of many young people who were having serious problems because they were unable to get to work, training, services or to friends.
Krystle Minhinett, 18, from Princetown, received help from the project when she needed to work as a waitress at a restaurant near Dartmeet on Dartmoor.
'I got in touch with the project and they loaned me a bike for six months. I saved up and now I have bought my own bike,' she said.