CHICKS which provides respite breaks for disadvantaged children has been presented with a cheque for £483 by the West Devon Borough Council mayor Cllr Robin Musgrave.

CHICKS, based at Brentor, was selected by Cllr Musgrave as his chosen charity during his year in office.

The money was raised by councillors, council staff and members of the public at a variety of events, including the mayor's civic service in October and during World Environment Day in June last year.

Cllr Musgrave said: 'As the West Devon Champion of Young People, I was delighted to choose a charity which makes such a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children.

'In these tough economic times, the work of CHICKS is more important than ever and our contribution goes some small way towards supporting the charity's worthwhile work. I would like to thank everyone who helped to raise the money.'

The cheque was handed to CHICKS chief executive Elanor Hoskin and the charity's business development manager, Jenny Venning, at a ceremony at the council chamber at Kilworthy Park in Tavistock.

Elanor Hoskin said: 'We are delighted to have been chosen as the mayor's charity for the last 12 months and really appreciate the money that has been raised.

'It will make a difference to the disadvantaged children we help. We were also thrilled that the mayor and mayoress recently joined us for our 20th anniversary celebrations and got the chance to meet HRH The Duke of Gloucester.'

Find out more about the charity at http://www.chicks.org.uk">www.chicks.org.uk

Cllr Musgrave ended his term as mayor on Tuesday, when the new mayor, Cllr William Cann, was elected.