THE EVENING Advertiser's parent company has made two local charities' day by handing over a total of £4,000 in grants.

The charitable arm of Gannett, the multi-national firm that owns the Advertiser's publisher Newsquest, has given £2,000 both to Swindon's Broad Green Breakfast Club and to The Rowdy Bunch youth club.

The money means the Rowdy Bunch, a club that tries to empower disabled youngsters through performing challenges such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, can again send more than 20 members and their carers on an adventure activity week in the Lake District.

The adventure trip is the highlight of the Park North-based club's year, and aims to boost youngsters' confidence by getting them to try extreme activities such as wheelchair abseiling and rock climbing.

Group chairman Keith Davidson said the money from the Gannett Foundation would pay for all the specialist buses and support vehicles the 46-strong group needed to take with them to Cumbria.

"It's absolutely brilliant, because the transport is always a real headache," he said.

The Gannett award also arrived on the same day as a £1,000 cheque from Swindon firm Great Western Packaging Company, making yesterday a Wednesday to remember for the club.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Broad Green Breakfast Club, Angela Davidson, described the second Gannett Foundation cheque as wonderful news.

The club, which opens seven mornings a week to give Swindon's homeless a shower and a breakfast, has just seen a National Lottery grant run out.

But Mrs Davidson said the £2,000 from Gannett would help guarantee its long-term future. "It's going to make life a lot easier," she said.

Every day the club, at Broad Green Community Centre in Salisbury Street, caters for up to 30 people who are either sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation.

"Quite often when they wake up, they are cold and damp and need somewhere to warm up," said Mrs Davidson. "We give them tea and a cooked breakfast and a shower.

"They look much brighter when they are finished here, and they can catch up with their friends.

"There are other facilities in Swindon where they can go during the day, but nothing else first thing in the morning."