FREEMASONS awarded cash to two youngsters so that they could take part in the trip of a lifetime.

Whalley's two masonic groups, the Abbey and the Cloisters Lodges, will sponsor Lindsay Aspden and Samuel Holden, both 15, on a week-long tallboat sailing expedition next month.

They chose the two 'deserving' teenagers to take part in the expedition as a reward for good deeds.

Lindsay, of St Mary's Drive in Langho, was chosen for her work with the Girl Guides Association and for helping to look after her disabled dad.

Samuel, of Kingsmill Avenue, Whalley, was chosen for his work with the village's junior football team and for his cycle ride for charity in the Isle of Man.

And to top it all the freemasons have now presented the two with £50 spending money for the trip.

The venture is part of the new masonic spirit of openness, said spokesman Jack Counsell, a member of the Abbey Lodge.

The 76-foot two-mast tall boat Greater Manchester Challenge will leave Preston and sail the Irish Seas before returning to Liverpool.

The expedition will be run by the Ocean Youth Club organisation, with Mr Counsell on board as second mate.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.