CROSS Roads Scout Group has received a £300 grant to help with the latest stage of restoring an overgrown allotment.

The plot, at Yorkshire Cat Rescue at Bocking, was offered to the Scouts in 2013 after they had helped tidy a patio area used by visitors and painted some of the buildings which house the cats.

Extensive work has been carried out since and the grant – from Keighley Community Chest – will go towards buying gardening tools, building materials and seeds and compost for next year's growing season.

A group spokesman said: "We have spent a lot of time and effort turning the giant weed, bramble and nettle patch into a thriving vegetable garden, grassed activity area with tables and fire pit and a stone-sided paved area with benches that we use as a meeting and social point.

"We have planted a variety of vegetables in the last two years and also had bumper crops of gooseberries, red and black currants, raspberries and a lot of apples.

"This year we are growing potatoes, beetroot, spring onions, Rainbow rhubarb and pumpkins, which we are hoping to use at Halloween."

The group also aims to buy a purpose-built basket to be used for building and cooking on open fires.

The spokesman added: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Community Chest panel for awarding us the grant."