THE children of the North Wilts Holiday Club are looking forward to three weeks of great days out this summer, thanks to a £1,500 grant from the Gazette & Herald's parent company, Gannett.

One of 64 local groups to have been awarded a total of £260,000 in the latest round of grants from the Gannett Foundation, the North Wilts Holiday Club will be spending its windfall on providing its special needs children with some summer excursions.

The group, which meets at St Nicholas School in Malmesbury Road, Chippenham, for three weeks during the summer holidays, provides much-needed care for children between the ages of four and 20.

Its leader, Joanna Simpson, said the staff and children were thrilled to learn they had been awarded the money and were now looking forward to spending it on having a great time.

"We are absolutely over the moon to receive this grant," she said.

"Taking the children out is an expensive business, because we need to hire wheelchair-friendly coaches, which can often cost £250 a day.

"We then have to add admission charges to attractions on top of that, so receiving £1,500 will be a real boost to our activities this summer."

The group is now planning a packed programme of excursions, including visits to Longleat Safari Park, the Cotswold Water Park and Bowood.

The group has eight trained staff and relies heavily on the hard work of its staff and volunteers to raise funds.

The Gannett Foundation Fund, supports projects that take a creative approach to issues like education, neighbourhood improvements, environmental conservation and solving problems in the community.

West Wilts Special Needs Activity Scheme was also awarded £1,500.

New volunteers, or anyone who would like more information on the group, can call Mrs Simpson on 07790 580463.