A COMMUNITY gardening project in Burnley could soon be powering the borough's cars on cooking oil.

For Offshoots is to look into turning vegetable oil into bio-chemical fuel after winning a national award.

The project, based in Towneley Park, is cooking on gas after receiving a commendation in the community regeneration category of the Sustainable Communities Awards, which rewards groups who carry out environmental projects.

Project manager Phil Dewhurst said winning the gong would help Offshoots attract more funding.

Now the organisation is hoping to start converting cars so they can run on fuel made from vegetable oil, thanks to the award.

He said: "We currently run a vehicle on bio-fuel which we purchase from a supplier in Manchester.

"What we want to be able to do is to provide the fuel ourselves and in the future offer a service where we would convert cars.

"The fuel would be sufficiently pure to use in any diesel car which was converted."

Offshoots runs a number of schemes, including turning household waste collected at the roadside into compost, as well as offering learning courses.

It also has beehives and a charcoal kiln, the produce of which is sold.

The group was presented with its award sponsored by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and judged by representatives from regeneration agency English Partnerships, government officials and the chief executives of several local authorities at a ceremony at the House of Lords.

Mr Dewhurst said Offshoots wanted to make the scheme pay for itself on the back of the prestige that winning the award would bring.

He added: "It's a great boost to us because we are receiving national recognition for what the staff have done over the last seven years.

"We are going to try and use this award to lever more funding for various initiatives and arrive at a point where we are fully sustainable."