A WEST Devon pre-school group is celebrating, after scooping a cash boost from the National Lottery's Awards for All programme.

Tavistock Community Pre-School has been awarded £4,775 in the latest round of grant funding, which saw £600,000 distributed among 83 projects in the South West.

Carol Bradford, volunteer treasurer of the group said the grant was going to make a 'huge' difference to the way the pre-school operated.

The money will be used to help set up a holiday club during the school summer holidays — and purchase a piece of equipment set to transform activities available for the children.

Carol said: 'We are based at the Alexander Centre but we've never been able to use the Meadows because of the difficulty getting very young children safely across the road.

'But now we have been able to purchase a piece of equipment — it's like a long, bendy pole. The children can hold on to a handle, and they are in a harness, a bit like a safety belt. It means we can take children under five out in a group — it's going to be fantastic, just this small piece of equipment is going to open up so much for us.

'We are going to be able to have trips out, we can go to the Meadows, go out on farm trips — it's going to make a huge difference to the experiences we can offer the children.

'Until now we've been enclosed in our pre-school building — now we can get out and it's just ace — you are going to see us everywhere!'

Tavistock Community Pre-School — classed as 'outstanding' following its last Ofsted inspection, is open Monday to Friday, from 8.45am to 3.30pm. Thanks to the Lottery grant, it will run a holiday club for children up to the age of eight this summer — dates and times yet to be announced.

Carol said: 'We know through our own parents that the six-week break can actually be enough to get very little children right out of the routine of pre-school, so it's almost like starting from new when term starts again.

'The holiday club should help get over that problem, and parents also enjoy the social aspect of it.'

Anyone interested in finding out more about Tavistock Community Pre-School should call 01822 612335 between noon and 1pm, Monday to Friday.

Mark Cotton of the Big Lottery Fund's South West region said: 'There are some great initiatives getting Lottery funding this month, many of which are focused around health — from helping people battling eating disorders to raising awareness of the dangers of alcohol.

'I hope other local groups take the opportunity to plan some innovative projects of their own and get their applications in.

The Big Lottery Fund's Awards for All programme was launched in April last year and with £45million to distribute across England, it is the fund's biggest-ever commitment to a small grant scheme supporting community projects.

The scheme offers grants of between £300 and £10,000 to social and environmental projects that will benefit local communities and make a difference to the lives of those most in need.