A VOLUNTEER driver scheme in a north Cotswold village has been awarded an £850 grant by Gloucestershire County Council.

The award to Bledington Care Committee, which runs villagers to hospital, doctor, dentist and chiropody appointments, has been given the grant as part of a £227,000 county council hand out to the voluntary sector.

The committee, which was founded in Bledington near Stow in 1974, also provides "at cost" funeral catering services for villagers and organises an annual over-65s lunch and tea parties.

It was one of 129 voluntary and community organisations in the county awarded grants ranging from £100 to £5,000 in this year's small grants awards.

Bledington Care Committee chairman Sue Windsor said the grant was much-needed funding for the committee, which has 17 volunteer drivers.

"That pays for a third of the cost of transport. We have voluntary drivers but people can claim for petrol," said Mrs Windsor.

"We raise the rest of the money through fundraising. Often when we do funerals we get a donation," she added.

The county council grants cover six main areas: community development; community transport, adult social care, legal advice, children and young people and the arts.

Other organisations benefiting from grants include Tewkesbury WRVS, which has been awarded £2,000 and Gay Glos, which will receive £1,500.

Council leader Barry Dare, who represent Moreton-Stow ward, said: "These grants are awarded to many of Gloucestershire's voluntary organisations who need smaller amounts of money to get new schemes off the ground or provide those all important extra services.

"As well as supporting people in need, the voluntary and community sector provides a voice for local residents who use our services.

"This enables us to get feedback from the heart of the community, information that we believe is increasingly important."