LOTTERY funding of almost half-a-million pounds has been awarded to groups in North and East Yorkshire for child-care places.

A total of 41 new out-of-school-hours clubs have been created in Hambleton and the East Riding to provide vital childcare.

The award was part of a £3.3 million grant to the Yorkshire and Huberside region for childcare places from the lottery New Opportunities Fund.

Two projects in Thirsk benefited from more than £300,000 to provide hundreds of before- and after-school, holiday and all-year-round places with the Community Care Association of Thirsk and Sowerby.

North Yorkshire as a whole will see the creation of 25 smaller clubs to provide places for children in the more rural parts of the region. York City Football Club has received an award, with a grant of almost £13,000 creating 50 holiday places for eight to 16-year-olds as part of the Community Programme in Professional Football.

Updated: 10:59 Monday, June 30, 2003