A £30,000 'treasure chest' is being made available to community and voluntary groups.

Organised and administered by Darlington Borough Council, the new Community Learning Chest is offering groups in the borough a chance to claim up to £1,000 towards education and training.

Cash has come from the Government's Learning and Skills Council funding for adult learning and is available to groups meeting necessary criteria.

The group must be Darlington-based and have a bank account, and the money cannot be spent on equipment.

Coun Don Bristow, cabinet member for resources, said: "The Community Learning Chest will give up to 30 local groups the chance to buy in the kind of training and education they feel they need. It could be anything from book keeping skills to computing courses and much more."

Application forms and more information are available by telephoning (01325) 388864 and bids must be in by July 2002