AN Accrington dance charity has scooped nearly £40k from the National Lottery to keep running classes online to comply with social distancing guidelines during the Covid-19 crisis.

Bosses at the award-winning DanceSyndrome group based in Accrington are celebrating the news of the grant of £39,750.

MD Dawn Vickers said: “This funding is vital to DanceSyndrome’s participants.

“It allows them to start adjusting to getting back into the community at their own pace, while offering a safety net of online sessions to those who need to continue to stay at home for any of several reasons," she added.

“It also allows us to keep engaging with new participants who have not been involved with us before.