A festive handout of more than £120,000 has been given to North Yorkshire charities.

Age Concern deputy chief officer, James Player, is presented with a Christmas donation by Lloyds TSB branch manager, Guy Timberlake

The money, from grant-making trust the Lloyds TSB Foundation, will help groups including those working with single parent families, youth and the environment.

Among those benefiting are York's elderly with a £23,000 cheque being given to Age Concern York to boost its handy person scheme, aiming to deliver basic DIY services to older residents, in partnership with a security scheme funded by the Safer York Partnership.

Age Concern York's deputy chief officer James Player said: "This money is going to secure for the next two years a service which really does help the older person live an independent life and it is a very pleasant relief for us to get it."

The handy person service employs people to carry out DIY jobs many of which could be done by younger people but which are basic and may not be done by normal workmen.

They include fitting smoke alarms.

Mr Player said: "This work is crucial to the safety of the older person and we are very pleased to have got it."

Other charities to benefit in York are One Parent Families, a group which provides support to single parents and their children.

The £24,000 grant will be used for salary costs.

The Detached Youth Work Project, which has direct contact with youngsters in York, accepted £24,000 for management costs and training workshops.

Another £5,000 was given for IT equipment for the Friends of St Nicholas Fields reserve and environmental education centre in Tang Hall.

Project co-ordinator Gordon Campbell Thomas said: "This is brilliant news.

"We rely on donations to keep our work going and support the local community. This has given everyone at the charity another excuse to celebrate this Christmas."

In Old Malton, the recently opened St Mary's Community Centre was given £2,000 for new furnishings, while the Pickering War Memorial Charitable Trust was given £3,000 for disabled facilities in the Memorial Hall.

A disabled persons' chair lift will be bought with £2,500 given to Brayton Village Hall, near Selby, while Easingwold District Community Care Association was given £17,457 towards salary costs.

Harrogate Alcohol and Drugs Agency will fund an East Parade project with £24,500, while Pannal Methodist Church in the town was given £3,000 for a disabled persons' toilet.

Charities in Scarborough shared more than £40,000.

Lloyds TSB Foundation receive one per cent of profits to support local charities that enable people to play a fuller role in society.

Guy Timberlake, branch manager at Lloyds TSB York, said: "Charities like these make a huge contribution to local community life but all too often they are our unsung heroes."

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