FRIENDS and members of a charity for children with hearing difficulties held a celebration evening in York after being awarded a £198,000 lottery grant.

York-based Lollipop will use the funding to reach out to more deaf and hearing-impaired youngsters in the area.

To mark the windfall, the charity had an open evening, at Creepy Crawlies adventure play park, at Clifton Moor, York, on Saturday.

Youngsters and adults got the chance to try out a climbing wall provided by City of York Council and a snowboard simulator.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of Lollipop can contact lollipopcharity@york.fslife.co.uk or phone 01904 446510.