Wells Cricket Club is celebrating after securing a £1,000 grant towards new training nets.

The club, which plays at Old School Lane in South Horrington has won the funding from housebuilder Persimmon Homes Severn Valley.

The funding comes as part of Persimmon's Community Champions initiative, which sees 64 good causes across Great Britain awarded up to £1,000 every month.

Wells Cricket Club provides cricket for more than 100 young people aged five to 18 every week. The club needs bespoke training nets which can be used even if it has rained during the day.

Rachel Richards, of the club, said: "This funding from Persimmon is a huge boost. We're extremely grateful.

"Our juniors section has grown rapidly in recent years, but our facilities haven't been able to keep up."

More than £10,000 already raised

Rachel said that most juniors' training currently takes place on the grass, which isn't able to recover from the wear and tear quickly enough, and training is frequently cancelled due to poor weather.

"Training nets will allow us to train even if it has rained, allowing us to get more children and adults playing cricket," she said.

"The project has been quoted at £30,000. Fortunately, we're able to bring that cost down with our army of volunteers, and we have already raised more than £10,000."

Carly Spear, sales director at Persimmon Homes Severn Valley, said: "We are delighted to be able to support Wells Cricket Club.

"It's great to see the club is thriving and these nets will make a big difference. We're proud to be involved with the communities in which we work."

Persimmon Homes is currently building a variety of three and four-bedroom homes at its Foxglove Heights development in Wells.

For more information visit www.persimmonhomes.com, or to apply for Community Champions funding visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity.