All Saints Grange Bowling Club has been bowled over after receiving vital Lottery funding.

The Clayton-le-Moors club has been awarded over £5,000 to improve the playing services – and now hopes it will encourage more people to take up the sport once the work has been carried out.

All Saints were one of many local sports projects to secure a share of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Small Grant fund.

And club secretary Laurie Denton, is thrilled at the funding boost which totalled £5,515.

“I am delighted that we have awarded the funding from Sport England’s Small Grant fund to carry out improvement to the playing surface of our bowling green,” he said.

“We are committed to promoting a safe and caring environment in which older people can enjoy taking part in a game of crown green bowls and other activities that encourage the good health and well-being of our members.”

Mr Denton said the club has been hit hard by the weather in recent years that had damaged the greens.

But repairs can now be made thanks to the funding – and keep the club’s ‘recycled teenagers’ happy!

“We have been bombarded with adverse weather conditions, heavy rain and storms over the past two years but now with the help of Sport England we will be able cope even better than we have done before.

“We have a recorded membership of over 100. The club was first formed in 1910 as part of the Parish Church Institute, we have a very progressive management committee and are well known locally as ‘recycled teenagers’!”

He added: “ Local groups are also welcome to use our green from time to time including the RNLI for their annual fund raising project.

“We are delighted to receive this award and thank Sport England for their help and guidance throughout the application process’ Hyndburn and Haslingden MP, Graham Jones welcomed the funding boost and praised the hard work of the club members.

He said ‘This is fantastic news for the club and for their many members.

“Crown green bowling is a great sport and I’m delighted that this grant funding will help improve the quality of the green.

“It’s testament to the dedication and hard work of the club’s committee that they’ve secured this funding from Sport England’.

Since 2011, the Small Grant has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.

In that time, £88 million has been invested in more than 1,600 projects to improve and refurbish sports clubs and transform non-sporting venues into vibrant community sports clubs.