A NORTH-EAST charity is starting 2017 with a major funding boost thanks to The Northern Echo.

Each year the newspaper's parent company Gannett hands out grants through its foundation trust in support of good causes in communities across the country.

This year Teesside-based autism charity Daisy Chain has been awarded £10,270 to support its work in the community.

The organisation, based at Norton, near Stockton, provides a haven for children with autism and their families.

Judith Haysmore, the project's chief executive, was presented with the cheque by Andy Richardson, Editor of The Northern Echo, at Calf Fallow Farm, the home of Daisy Chain.

She said: “We are delighted to receive this support.

“Our families have been so passionate about utilising the outside space for all weather play and ensuring that this area is safe and suitable for our younger children so we can now make this happen.”

The grant will be used to install soft pore matting for all weather play and to make the site’s gates and fencing suitable for children to play outside. In addition the charity will fit new lighting and install a changing area.

“We are based here at Norton but families travel from North Yorkshire and across Tees Valley to use our facilities so this funding will make a real difference to a lot of people.”

Simon Westrop, chairman of the Gannett trustees, said: “Experience has taught us that real benefits are more likely to be delivered by smaller, well-defined and well-targeted donations so we tend to like simple things we can understand and which deliver obvious and immediate improvements to people’s lives.

“We are still interested in joining with other donors in big projects as well, but usually we will want to make sure that the majority of funding is in place before we participate, rather than seeing the project left unfinished.”

Grants are made once a year when the trustees meet in November. Details of how organisations can apply for support in 2017 will appear in the Echo from July.