GRANTS totalling £45,000 have been awarded to arts and heritage groups in Ryedale.

Arts Council England in Yorkshire has awarded grants to three groups.

Musicians in Residence, which runs an online directory where event organisers can search for suitable musicians and book their services, was given £10,138.

Ryedale Sports and Arts Festival received £4,774 towards a two-day festival of music, drama, dance, street art and video this summer.

A grant of £5,000 was awarded to Ryedale Festival for the production of a musical called The Gypsy Queen.

The Local Heritage Initiative, which is a partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, Nationwide Building Society and Countryside Agency, has awarded £25,000 to The Lockton and Levisham Heritage Group.

It will use the money to conduct a six-month archaeological project around St Mary's Church to find out if there once was a village in the valley.

Group secretary Anne Deebank said: "We are very excited about this funding and we are also very keen to encourage as many people as possible to join in the work."