The Alice Bacon Memorial Trust was awarded almost £350 from Wakefield Council’s Community Chest fund, which will go towards the events and outings it organises for senior citizens across the Normanton district.

Committee secretary Carol Moran said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this money. It will go a long way towards things we organise throughout the year with one of our key costs being transport to get the elderly people out and about.

“We do a lot of our own fundraising, but external funding like the Community Chest award is always a huge help.”

The New Sharlston Activities Group was also celebrating with an award of £534.

It will be put towards the group’s Extend scheme, which aims to increase the mobility and improve the health of older and less mobile people through exercise sessions, which focus on armchair exercises.

Former PE and outdoor pursuits teacher Alexandra Devey, 53, who runs the sessions at the New Sharlston Sports and Social Club, known locally as the Kibble, said: “It is great to get something at last – I was somersaulting when I heard the news because Sharlston tends to be at the back of the queue usually.

“The money will help us buy apparatus like exercise balls and lightweight batons, to help make the session more fun. But it will also help cover the cost of room hire.”

The New Sharlston Activities Group was founded around six years ago and caters for people of all ages, providing everything from sporting activities to bingo and shows.

For more information on the exercise sessions, call Mrs Devey on 860862.