YOUR County Gazette is always at the heart of the community - and has handed out more than £11,000 to good causes recently.

Through the Gannett Foundation, a charitable grants scheme run by the parent company of Newsquest, which publishes the County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, Chard and Ilminster news and the Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News, the paper has been able to hand over the cash to two Somerset charities.

A cheque for £10,000 was handed to the Dowlish Wake Playing Field Trust, which saw them over the line in their bid to raise £165,000 to rebuild a pavilion destroyed in an arson attack in October 2016.

Trust chairman Mike Lane said: “This has turned out to be a £165,000 project and the £10,000 from the Gannett Foundation will complete the final amount we needed.”

Somerset County Gazette:
Report Oliver Palmen, right, presents a cheque for £10,000 to Mike Lane, chairman of the Dowlish Wake Playing Field Trust

Meanwhile, in Taunton, more than £1,200 was handed to the 1st Taunton (Wilton) Scout Group to buy new camping equipment.

“We were thrilled to hear the great news that we had won a grant of £1,290 from the Gannett Foundation and we plan to spend the money on lightweight tents for camping expeditions,” said a group spokesman.

“This will help our young people to keep healthy, have fun with their friends and enjoy the beautiful Somerset countryside.”

County Gazette editor, Paul Jones, said: “The County Gazette is proud to be at the heart of the Somerset community and it is a thrill to be able to help groups like these achieve their goals and make a real difference.”

Keep checking back to countygazette.co.uk for details of the next round of Gannett Foundation grants in the coming months.