FAMILIES living in a Southampton community are set to benefit from more than a quarter of a million pounds worth of lottery funding.

The Weston Church Youth Project is celebrating after securing £296,096 from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund that will pay for extra projects supporting families in the Weston area.

For 20 years the organisation has been working with children and families providing help and support through education, training and activity projects.

The lottery money will pay for two extra members of staff who will be delivering new projects over the next four years.

One of the projects will specifically be aimed at engaging youngsters aged 12 and over in short-term courses with a view to learning new skills, another part-time worker will also be dedicated to helping families, specifically encouraging parents to get involved in projects and volunteering.

Project leader Libbi Beckwith said: “The money means we can take on these two new members of staff who will be able to deliver these projects for the community of Weston. It was great to hear that we had been successful and means we can fund these new projects over the next four years.”

The Weston Church Youth Project is part of the Holy Trinity church family and relies on donations along with funding from Southampton City Council and a number of charitable organisations.