YELVERTON Village Park and Princetown Pre-School and Playgroup were among the groups to benefit from generous donations by the Dartmoor prison charities committee.

Dartmoor Prison gave away more than £2,500 in a series of donations to local organisations and charities.

Yelverton village park and Princetown pre-school and playgroup both received £500 from the Dartmoor Prison charities committee.

Walkham Valley Scout and Cub group, based in Walkhampton, received the largest single donation, £545, to help run a new pack for youngsters.

The total of £2,650 will be shared between seven groups. Other causes include youth football, a Plymouth primary school, the CLIC charity and individual sponsorship for the 20th World Jamboree in Thailand.

Brian Medhurst, of the Yelverton Community Fund, said: 'We are delighted with the prison for giving us £500 towards our park, it is fantastic.'

Mr Medhurst said the donation to the village park would be a 'great step' towards its extension, involving installation of new equipment, including play apparatus for children with special needs. He said the prison had always been supportive of the project, as its workshop had built benches and tables for the park.

Lindsey Huntley, from Princetown pre-school and playgroup, said: 'It is very much appreciated, we rely on grants to keep the pre-school going.'

The donation will cover one term's rent of the church hall, for the village's pre-school and toddler groups.

The money donated to the Walkham Valley Scouts will go towards the start-up costs of the newly-formed Beaver Group, run by Becci Young. The Beavers have already signed up 17 youngsters, with many more keen to join.

A spokesmen for Walkham Valley Scouts said: 'The money given to us by the Dartmoor Prison charities committee has been a great bonus and much appreciated.'

A Dartmoor Prison spokesperson said the charity committee meets regularly to review letters of appeal for funds and decide on which charities and groups meet the criteria for the allocation of money.

The law regarding prison charity funds has recently changed. New prison manual rules mean that Dartmoor can no longer hold money for charity in a special account. A prison spokesperson said that issues regarding the future of the charity committee at the prison were being looked into.

Some of the money made available to the local groups was received when the prison opened its gates to a film crew making a new British movie. Scenes from the recent prison comedy-drama 'Lucky Break', were shot at Dartmoor, last November.