A centre for young people in Brightlingsea has scooped a £5,000 grant from Tendring District Council (TDC) to help boost its valuable work.

4 Youth drop-in centre first opened up nine years ago in an effort to give the young people in the town a venue and activities - rather than gather in large groups on street corners.

After using a number of premises in the area the group secured rental of a building in Tower Street.

Although 4 Youth's overall aim is to acquire the property - or build a new home - it is keen to be able to open up the upper floor of the current property which is not possible at the moment as it does not meet fire safety standards.

Margaret Tay, Chairman and Group Leader, said they would be able to provide so much more space and extend the activities if the top floor could be put to good use.

"We would like to replace the present fire escape as well as buy further fire safety equipment in order to get full use from the building," she said.

"The money from TDC will go towards meeting the costs of that and we are extremely grateful for the Council's support."

Mrs Tay added that the first funding the group ever received to help it get up and running came from TDC.

"We owe them a great deal," she said.

4 Youth is run entirely by volunteers with guidance from a management committee.

It is a drop-in, social and advisory centre which opens two nights a week offering a range of facilities such as snooker, table tennis, air hockey, table football, computers, play station and a tuck shop.

The group - which has more than 200 members on the books - also runs an art workshop on a third evening and organises music workshops, drama and puppet workshops as well as an Infants Club and Junior Club one afternoon a week.

Robert Bucke, Portfolio Holder for Finance at TDC, said that 4 Youth did a fantastic job in the community and was very deserving of a grant from the Council's small schemes budget.

"They have achieved such a lot in such a relatively short space of time and have had to recover from a number of setbacks," he said.

"They were without a proper home for two years but managed to keep in contact by meeting up on a regular basis and continue some of the outdoor activities."

Cllr Bucke added that TDC was delighted to be able to support 4 Youth with a grant which would benefit the many young people in Brightlingsea who are involved with the group.