COMMUNITY groups or projects in Middlesbrough that could do with a little helping hand can access grants of up to £1,500.

Middlesbrough Council's community fund programme is open to residents or small groups who have an idea to do something good in their community or established groups seeking extra support for their work.

Applications based around helping communities in relation to the coronavirus outbreak will be given priority but unrelated projects which will help when it is over are also welcomed.

Cllr Mieka Smiles, Middlesbrough Council's Executive Member for Culture and Communities, said: "Middlesbrough Council is proud of our residents and how they pull together to support each other, we want to help support our community groups to continue their work through the current crisis and beyond. We are currently hearing so many inspiring stories of how individuals, groups or whole communities are coming together to support and help one another and we hope we can help them do even more. These grants don't have to be paid back and are open to applications to anyone wanting to do good in the town."

Among the recent grants given out under the scheme includes £1,500 given to a food project run by Recovery Connections.

The project provides four days' worth of meals for between 40 to 50 people and the community fund grant is part of an overall budget of £10k.

Another is the Auxiliary Project Space.