A VILLAGE Hall near Ludlow has bagged vital funding support thanks to supermarket customers who do not provide their own shopping bags.

Ashford Carbonell Village Hall Committee has bagged £5,000 from a Tesco funding scheme.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help funding initiative, which sees grants of up to £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to thousands of local community projects every year.

Millions of shoppers voted in stores up and down the country. It can now be revealed Ashford Carbonell Village Hall has been awarded £5000.

Work will now begin on bringing the project to life.

The renovation and upgrade of the Village Hall Playground will enable a wider age group of children, whether able or disabled, to enjoy the new facilities.

Committee members would like to thank everyone who voted for this project and Tesco’s for providing the funds.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response from our customers,” said Lindsey Crompton, Tesco’s Head of Community.

“The great thing about Bags of Help is that local people are invited to decide how the money will be spent in their community. We can’t wait to see the projects come to life.”

Voting ran in stores throughout January with customers choosing which local project they would like to get the top award using a token given to them at the check-out.

Since launching in 2015, Bags of Help has awarded more than £27 million across more than 3,500 local projects.

Tesco customers will get the chance to vote for three different groups each time they shop. Every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Bags of Help criteria have recently been extended to include any project that benefits the community.

Previously the scheme funded outdoor projects only.

“We want to ensure that the money raised benefits as many local people in as many different places as possible so we’ve extended the range of groups and projects that we can support,” said Graham Duxbury, chief executive for Groundwork.

“The scale and variety of activities supported by Bags of Helps shows what can be achieved when communities are given the support and the encouragement they need to make change happen in their local area.”

The playground at Ashford Carbonell Village Hall will be officially opened at 10.30am on Saturday, April 15.

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp